Mini-dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, 2010. / Introduction The aim of the study was to determine the effect of Acridotheres tristis 30CH on healthy volunteers (provers) and to record the clearly observable signs and symptoms produced, so that Acridotheres tristis 30CH may be prescribed according to the Law of Similars, as required by homoeopathy. Methodology The proving of Acridotheres tristis took the form of a randomised, placebocontrolled trial on 30 healthy volunteers who met inclusion criteria. The 30th centesimal potency of the tail feather was administered as lactose powders and fifty percent of provers were randomly administered an identical placebo-control substance. The collection of the data from the provers took the form of a journal in which each prover‟s symptoms were recorded for six weeks, including a one-week observation period prior to taking the powders, and a proving period of five weeks after administration of powders. On completion of the proving, each journal was assessed by the researcher to determine the suitability of the recorded symptoms for inclusion in the materia medica of Acridotheres tristis. These symptoms were then translated into the language of the materia medica and repertory and the remedy picture then formulated. Data from case histories, physical examinations and group discussions were also taken into account during the analysis of the proving symptoms. Results The homoeopathic drug proving of Acridotheres tristis, conducted as a doubleiii blind, randomised and placebo-controlled study produced a wide range of symptoms. In the collated edited data arising from the proving 396 journal entries were extracted and 595 rubrics in total were formulated, of which 56 rubrics were new. The main symptoms belonging to the mental and emotional spheres of this remedy include depression, anxiety, memory weakness and isolation accompanied by a need for solitude. The characteristic physical symptoms include headaches, dizziness, extreme fatigue, skin eruptions especially pimples and rashes, haemorrhoids, numbness and severe dysmenorrhoea. Other symptoms indicate a possible use in the treatment of gastro-intestinal complaints which include nausea, abdominal cramps, abdominal distention and heartburn. Conclusion The investigation supported the hypothesis that Acridotheres tristis would produce clearly observable signs and symptoms in healthy volunteers. It is essential that the proving symptoms be verified and expanded through clinical trials and further provings of Acridotheres tristis in various potencies, so that it becomes well-utilized remedy in the future.

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements of the Master’s Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Department of Homepathy, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Introduction This study was a double-blind, placebo controlled proving of Panthera leo 30CH (claw of a African lioness); the aim being to determine the effect of this substance induces on healthy persons and in doing do explore the homoeopathic therapeutic potential thereof, in addition a subsequent comparison with the provings of Lac leoninum (milk of a lioness) (Sankaran,1998) (Herrick,1998) was performed. Objectives The primary objective of this proving was to determine the effect that Panthera leo 30 CH on healthy provers so that the therapeutic potential of the substance could be determined. The secondary objective was to compare the Materia medica of Panthera leo with that of Lac leoninum (Herrick, 1998) and Sankaran (1998). Lastly, the third objective was to further develop the homoeopathic Materia medica by adding the remedy picture of Panthera leo. Methodology The drug proving of Panthera leo was conducted as a randomized, exploratory, double blind placebo controlled study. Thirty participants (healthy volunteers) who met the inclusion criteria (Appendix B) participated in the proving, twenty – four were given the verum and the remaining six placebo. Upon obtaining written informed consent the researcher performed a full case history and comprehensive physical examination on each prover before commencement of the proving. A subsequent follow up case history and physical examination at the end of the proving was also performed to establish whether provers had returned to their respective healthy states. The provers took their first dose of the proving remedy at a dosage of 1 dose three times daily for 2 days and recorded all symptoms they experienced in their respective journals according to the guidelines in Appendix C. On completion of the proving, all provers handed in their journals which were then transcribed, assessed and analyzed. An extensive comparison between the proving of Panthera leo and the two provings of Lac leoninum (Herrick, 1998) (Sankaran, 1998) followed. The respective remedies were compared and contrasted with respect to Materia medica and repertory and similarities and differences highlighted. Results A total of 1255 rubrics were obtained of which the mind section of the Materia medica weighed heavily comprising 35 % (435 rubrics) of the proving symptoms, the generals section (11% = 135 rubrics) and head section (9% = 109 rubrics) respectively. Therefore it can be suggested that this remedy’s sphere of action is limited largely to the mind (emotional state) however unique physical indications specifically regarding headaches are also within its sphere of action. Of the total, 1255 rubrics that were obtained only 11% (138 rubrics) where shared with the two other provings of the African lion (Herrick 1998 & Sankaran 1998); as suggested by Naude (2011) one can speculate that these shared symptoms may represent the unique mammalian component of the animal the differences however considerably outweigh the similarities between these provings and for this reason one can conclude that factors in addition to the species of animal from which the remedy is sourced further influence the resultant proving symptoms. Conclusion It can be concluded that Panthera leo 30CH produced clearly observable symptoms in healthy provers who participated in this proving, furthermore there was clear congruency between certain aspects of this proving and that of Herrick and Sankaran however such similarities were limited.

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements of the Master’s Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Department of Homeopathy, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / INTRODUCTION A homoeopathic drug proving was conducted by Master’s students at the Durban University of Technology (DUT). The proving substance was nail shavings obtained from an African lioness (Panthera leo). The primary objective of this study was to identify the symptoms produced by healthy individuals in response to Panthera leo 30CH; this was done by administering the proving remedy (Panthera leo 30CH) to healthy individuals, who recorded the symptoms they experienced after taking the remedy. The secondary objective was to compare the symptoms produced to the ethology of the African lion. The final objective was to further develop the materia medica by adding the remedy picture of Panthera leo. METHODOLOGY This study was qualitative and exploratory in nature. The study took the form of a randomised, double-blind and placebo controlled trial. A total of 30 provers, who met the inclusion criteria (Appendix C), participated in this study. The provers were randomly assigned to either a verum or placebo group, such that 24 received verum (Panthera leo) and 6 received placebo. Neither provers nor researchers had knowledge of which provers were in each group until the study was complete, and provers did not have any knowledge regarding the nature of the proving substance. Before commencing the study all provers signed relevant information and consent documents. The researcher then took a full case history and performed a physical examination. Provers recorded their baseline state for 7 days in a journal, prior to taking the verum or placebo, as administered to them. After recording their baseline state for 7 days, they took their remedies and continued to record their symptoms for a minimum of 2 weeks, or until the proving symptoms ceased. Once they had completed recording in their journals, a post-proving case history was taken and a physical examination was performed. All journals were collected and analysed by the researcher. The remedy was manufactured by triturating the crude substance up to the 3rd centesimal potency. This was then converted to a liquid potency and further diluted up to the 30th centesimal potency. Neutral granules were impregnated with Panthera leo 30CH, and dispensed as 10 granules in 500mg of lactose powder. The placebo was dispensed as 10 granules, which were impregnated with 96% ethanol, in 500mg lactose powder. Each prover received 6 lactose powders, containing either verum or placebo. The manufacture of Panthera leo was done according to the methods and guidelines stipulated in the German Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia (Benyunes, 2005) RESULTS The proving of Panthera leo 30CH produced a total of 1234 rubrics, which represent a wide variety of mental, emotional and physical symptoms. The main themes that emerged from the mental and emotional symptoms included anger, aggression, irritability, poor concentration and fear. Physical symptoms included catarrh, constipation, diarrhoea, diminished appetite, fatigue, insomnia, thirstiness and headaches. A comparison was made between the symptomatology of Panthera leo and the ethology of the lion. Some of the themes of symptoms which corresponded with the ethology of the lion included ‘anger’, ‘audacity’, ‘ennui’, ‘increased appetite and thirst’, ‘responsibilities’ and ‘children’. CONCLUSION The objectives of this study were fulfilled, as the proving of Panthera leo produced a wide variety of clearly identifiable and observable symptoms amongst the healthy individuals recruited. There was a remarkable correlation of a portion of the materia medica with the ethological features of the African lion. As a result of this study, the materia medica of Panthera leo was well outlined and will be added to the existing body of homoeopathic materia medica for application and utilization in clinical practice

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements of the Master’s Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Department of Homeopathy, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015. / Homoeopathy has advanced as an empirical art and has become a modern age science backed by the kind of massive research data and critical reviews that helps scientific knowledge become acceptable within the global knowledge space. Two centuries ago, the practice of homoeopathy was possible with a few hundred proven remedies of that time but as this science developed through both research and collection of empirical data the number of remedies available increased exponentially. As both the study of remedies and the remedy selection process became more challenging, group analysis by famous homoeopaths such as Farrington (1992), Sankaran (2003), Scholten (1993), Mangliavori (in Vidal 2005) emerged. Currently, with a database of over 3000 remedies available for prescription, group analysis, though a contested approach has proven to be an adequate tool that helps consolidate mass homoeopathic data into meaningful groupings that makes both the study of remedies and their application in practice easier. Classifying homoeopathic remedies into groups by means of group analysis and allowing such methods and results thereof to go through rigorous critiquing refines homoeopathic knowledge and improves its ability to sustain itself as a competent science. Homoeopathy has emerged as a technologically inclined science, utilising various software programs enabling more thorough correlation of symptoms and remedies and so improving the prescription process. Software programs have proven to be very useful tools for the development of group analysis. The aim of this study was to extract the common characteristic symptomatology of five selected homoeopathic remedies belonging to the acidum family as represented in the known materia medica and repertory. The acidum remedies appearing in Radar® 10 repertory (Archibel 2008) were analysed in terms of rubric representation (frequency) and the top five were selected for inclusion in the study. The top five remedies were: Nitricum acidum, Phosphoricum acidum, Muriatic acidum, Sulphuricum acidum and Fluoricum acidum. All rubrics in which the selected remedies appeared were extracted using the homoeopathic software package Radar® 10 (Archibel, 2008) and analysed for sensations and active, passive and compensation reactions of the selected remedies, as per Sankaran (2002). The common primary sensations identified were, burning, sore, swelling, pressing, cramping, dryness, weakness, tearing, and coldness. There were also sensations of anxiety, restlessness, delirium, delusions, dullness, sadness and cheerfulness. Active reactions identified were: hot, heat, inflammation and sensitivity. Passive reactions identified were: coldness, numbness and weakness. Compensation reactions identified were: restlessness, hurriedness, intense reaction and passion. Miasmatic keywords as per Sankaran (2002) were used to determine the miasmatic tendencies of the selected top five acidum remedies. In general all acidum remedies appeared to have a dominant syphilitic miasmatic tendency but acidums were present through all the miasms. Their miasmatic tendencies are easily recognised when viewed in the light of their pathophysiological processes. The pathological tendencies of acidum remedies examined in this study include: haemorrhoids, general haemorrhage, syphilis, warts, neoplastic and non-plastic tumours, irritable bowel syndrome (reflux, colic, constipation), rheumatism, muco-cutaneous ulcerations (STIs, Xerostomia, diabetic ulcers) and bone diseases (osteoporosis, osteitis, and peri-osteitis). The results of this research were compared to the findings of Scholten (1993) and Mangialavori and Marotta (2005). It is the researcher’s view that Sankaran’s methodology of group analysis which he used to explore biological groups of remedies (plants and animals) is adequate for use with non-biological groups of remedies such as mineral acidums. The researcher found group analysis methodology worthy as a tool for classifying the mass data of acidum remedies into orderly sets of meaningful data. Group analysis is consistent with the laws and principles of homoeopathy and encourages the use of materia medica and repertory which are fundamental to the study and application of homoeopathic knowledge. / M

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements of the Master’s Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / There are now several thousand remedies available to a homoeopath and this number is continually increasing with the increase in homoeopathic research and provings. This growing wealth of data does, however, make choosing a homoeopathic remedy difficult and some homoeopaths argue that the essence of homoeopathic remedies are being lost in this excess of data. In an attempt to more accurately see a remedy’s ‘picture’ and gain deeper insight into remedies, Scholten (1993), Sankaran (2005a) and Mangialavori (2010) developed different methods which can now be collectively referred to as “group analysis”. The aim of group analysis is to find symptoms, sensations and pathological tendencies that are common to all remedies within a group. This study involved applying Sankaran’s group analysis approach to the psychoactive plant drug remedies with the rationale of filtering and organizing the mass of data we now have available on this group. This will enable both students and professionals of homoeopathy to develop a deeper understanding, and hence greater utilization, of the psychoactive plant drug remedies. The following five homoeopathic remedies were chosen for this study on the grounds that they have all been extensively proved through both homoeopathic provings and cured clinical cases and there is a vast amount of literature available on these remedies in materia medica and repertories: • Anhalonium lewinii (Cactaceae family) • Cannabis indica (Hamamalidae family) • Coffea cruda (Rubiaceae family) • Nux moschata (Magnolianae family) • Opium (Papaveraceae family) A computer repertory search was conducted using RadarOpus (Archibel, 2014) to extract all rubrics containing the selected remedies. Parameters were set to retain only rubrics that have less than 50 remedies and at least two of the selected psychoactive plant remedies in them. This was to ensure that only well-defined, characteristic remedies were looked at. The rubrics were visually analyzed, compared and contrasted to determine the common sensations within them and mental, general and particular symptoms were analyzed in terms of Sankaran’s model of Vital Sensation (2005a). The vital sensation of the psychoactive plant drug remedies was found to be that of horror, fear or fright. All the remedies belonging to this group experience the sensation of horror either through their perception of pain or through dreams, visions, hallucinations or anxiety. This sensation pervades all these remedies which are constantly trying to escape this sensation by either increasing or decreasing their activity and sensitivity. The active reaction to the sensation of horror is to increase activity. This is expressed through increased sensitivity; mental clarity; sensations of contraction, fullness, heaviness, heat or moisture; delirium, hallucinations and instability. The passive reaction to the sensation of horror is to decrease activity. This is expressed through insensitivity; lack of mental clarity; sensations of expansion, emptiness, lightness, cold or dryness; sleep, stupor and unconsciousness. The compensation, or coping mechanism that psychoactive plant drug remedies develop, is a transcendence of their condition: they transcend, or escape, their condition by no longer feeling or doing anything, by becoming numb and insensitive. The researcher suggests that although the remedies of the psychoactive plant drug group can be classified according to different miasms, the over-riding miasm of this group is the sycotic miasm with its fundamental sense of having a ‘fixed weakness’ within themselves. The researcher also proposes that the psychoactive plant remedies have an affinity for the central nervous system and for ailments caused by strong emotions such as joy, anger, excitement, fear or fright. These remedies tend to produce pathologies of the central nervous system and sleep including increased reflexes, involuntary motions, trembling, jerking; weakness, atrophy, slowness, paralysis; unconsciousness; catalepsy; Autism Spectrum Disorders; hypersensitivity; insensitivity or absence of sensitivity; pain; formication; mental confusion, poor comprehension, nonsensical speech; memory disorders; delirium, hallucinations, schizophrenia; mood disorders; behavioural disorders; anxiety; insomnia, narcolepsy and nightmares. The researcher found group analysis to be a powerful methodology that, if employed correctly, can aid homoeopaths to learn and understand remedies in their ‘totality’. / M

Los sistemas físicos alejados del equilibrio resultan difíciles de estudiar, pues ni siquiera el concepto de temperatura se encuentra bien definido. El aporte fundamental de la Tesis Doctoral ``Conductividad y relajación en vidrios de Coulomb'' estriba en la caracterización del no equilibrio en los vidrios de Coulomb, mediante la extensión de ciertos conceptos inherentes al equilibrio. Estos sistemas poseen utilidad, ya que una gran cantidad de materiales modernos se pueden encuadrar bajo el marco del modelo teórico de los vidrios de Coulomb. Asimismo, algunos mecanismos tan importantes como la conductividad eléctrica en cadenas de ADN parece responder al mismo modelo. Nuestro estudio mediante simulación numérica ha servido para refutar la validez de algunos modelos existentes, así como para arrojar nuevas cuestiones al campo experimental. La caracterización del no equilibrio se ha llevado a cabo a través del estudio de la relajación y la conductividad.

國際市場對植物藥和中藥的需求不斷增加而且市場潛力巨大，植物藥為主的中藥進入國際市場，必須符合國際植物藥的質量要求及規管。可是一直以來成功在海外註冊的中藥產品寥寥無幾，這都源於海外法規對中藥及植物藥的要求比較嚴謹，尤其重視中草藥安全性、質量性和有效性的標準。本文研究分為兩部分：(一)介紹海內外主要藥典包括中國(CP)、日本(JP)、歐洲(EP)、英國(BP)及美國藥典(USP-NF)，其應用地區廣泛、影響力大，建立的檢測方法水準較高。主要研究各藥典對植物藥及傳統草藥質量標準的概況，及對各國藥典收載的5種基原植物相同生藥與中國藥典的質量檢測標準作比較，為完善中藥質量標準提供借鑒；(二)研究闡述了海外相關政府機構包括歐盟對註冊植物藥或中藥的規管和註冊要點，通過分析歐盟針對草藥藥品的簡化註冊程序 (Simplified registration procedure, SR)，探討其註冊的難度及關鍵問題，以成功註冊之例子，為中藥進入國際市場提供參考，對中藥國際化之路有所啟示。中藥要解決的註冊的限制，需要從提升中藥自身質量標準及國際合作等方面，才能使中藥增強國際競爭力，順利跨越國際技術性註冊的限制。中藥走向國際的過程，是中醫藥與現代西醫藥相互融合的必經階段，最終達到標準統一的過程，二者的不斷融會和貫通，將成為新世紀醫藥產業的一大熱點。 關鍵詞： 中藥規管；植物藥規管；藥典；質量檢測標準；歐盟註冊；簡化註冊程序；中藥國際化 The international market demand for herbal and traditional Chinese medicine is increasing recently. To get marketing authorization from global regulatory bodies, herbal-based Chinese medicine must be complied with international quality and regulatory requirements. However, there are only a few successful cases that Chinese herbal products have been registered overseas due to the high standard of overseas requirements, which emphasis on safety, quality and effectiveness of herbal products. This article is divided into two parts: (a) To introduce the worldwide pharmacopeias including the Chinese Pharmacopeia (CP), Japanese Pharmacopeia (JP), European Pharmacopeia (EP), British Pharmacopeia (BP), the United States Pharmacopeia and the National Formulary (USP-NF). This section aims to collate data from the aforementioned pharmacopoeias and draw comparison on their quality standards and requirements for the five crude drugs / herbal medicine from the same botanical origin for the harmonization of global herbal medicine quality standards, (b) To investigate information of the existing requirements for registration of herbal medicine in the European Union. Through the analysis of a pathway for marketing traditional herbal medicinal products, the “simplified registration” procedure, the key issues and difficulties are discussed and some suggestions with an example are put forward for the registration of Chinese Medicine to enter the international market. To conclude, it is crucial to improve the quality standards of Chinese Medicine to overcome the technical registration problem and facilitate international authorities’ cooperation for enhancing the international competitiveness of Chinese medicine. The internationalization of Chinese medicine will become a hot topic in pharmaceutical industry for the new century. Keywords Regulation of Chinese medicines; Herbal regulation; Pharmacopoeia; Quality testing standards; EU registration; Simplified registration; Internationalization of Chinese medicine

The objective of the following study was threefold: to conduct a homoeopathic drug proving of Acacia xanthophloea 30CH on healthy individuals in order to elucidate the totality of signs and symptoms produced by the drug substance; to analyse the signs and symptoms gathered from the proving, collate the data, and convert the symptoms into materia medica symptoms and rubrics; to compare the symptoms of the proving to the doctrine of signatures. Methodology This proving study was a double-blinded, placebo controlled study. Thirty provers or participants were recruited for the study and the sample size was divided equally between two researchers (A. Gobind and G. Zondi). The sample was randomly divided into two groups, with one group receiving an active substance (verum group) and the other group receiving a placebo (control group). Amongst the 30 provers, 24 participants received verum and six received placebo. Each prover was given a journal to record their symptoms, a pen and nine powders. The duration of this proving study was six weeks including the first week of baseline during which time each prover was required to record their symptoms before taking the proving substance. This procedure was clearly explained to each prover and an information sheet with detail explanation of the proving procedure was provided and informed consent obtained. A thorough case history was taken in the initial consultation and physical examinations to ensure that individuals participating met the inclusion criteria and were healthy. Results Information derived both researchers was combined and the extraction of signs and symptoms then commenced. The symptoms were translated into materia medica and repertory format and graded accordingly. Thereafter the symptoms that emerged from the study were discussed and compared with the doctrine of signatures of Acacia xanthophloea. Provers experienced a wide range of symptoms mentally and emotionally e.g. anger, poor concentration and focus, disconnected feeling, depression, stress, anxiety, antisocial/ aversion to company, tranquillity. A large number of physical symptoms were noted by provers e. g. headaches, ailments of extremities (joint pain, weakness), female related symptoms (irregular menses, decrease/ increase libido etc.), eye symptoms, skin symptoms and general symptoms. The comparison of the symptoms of Acacia xanthophloea 30CH to the doctrine of signatures of the tree Acacia xanthophloea illustrated certain similarities, especially with regard to skin symptoms, eye symptoms, gastrointestinal symptoms and headaches. Conclusion The proving substance Acacia xanthophloea 30CH did produced signs and symptoms when given to healthy individuals as hypothesised. The symptoms when compared to the doctrine of signatures of the acacia xanthophloea tree did show correlation as hypothesised. / M

Orientador: Antonio Carlos Ferreira Seridonio / Banca: Claudio Luiz Carvalho / Banca: Makoto Yoshida / Resumo: Investigou-se teoricamente um sistema composto por um interferômetro do tipo AharonovBohm com dois pontos quânticos, onde um deles encontra-se acoplado à um fio de Kitaev na fase topológica, nos casos em que se desconsidera a interação de Coulomb entre os pontos quânticos (caso não interagente) e quando a mesma é levada em conta (caso interagente). Na primeira situação, verificou-se a presença robusta da anomalia de voltagem zero para ambos os regimes de interferência Fano adotados. Além do mais, constatou-se que o estado de Majorana isolado possui uma maneira singular de quebrar a simetria dos perfis de densidade de transmitância em função da diferença simétrica de energia dos pontos quânticos e da energia de Fermi dos terminais metálicos. Tais perfis podem ser obtidos experimentalmente por medidas de condutância. Na situação de pontos quânticos interagentes em ressonância, verificou-se que a razão entre a magnitude da repulsão de Coulomb e o acoplamento fio-ponto quântico altera a largura da anomalia de voltagem zero em ambos os regimes Fano analisados. Esse fato sugere que a correlação eletrônica influencia o tempo de vida do estado de Majorana no ponto quântico hibridizado diretamente com o fio. Ademais, para a situação de pontos quânticos não ressonantes, a inversão dos valores de energia dos mesmos também modifica a largura da anomalia de voltagem zero, fenômeno que não ocorre para o caso não interagente. Acredita-se que o dispositivo proposto neste trabalho constitui um mecanismo experimental alternativo para detectar excitações de Majorana / Abstract: We investigate theoretically a setup composed by an Aharonov-Bohm-like interferometer with two quantum dots, where one of them is coupled to a Kitaev wire within the topological phase, which is explored in two cases: (i) the interdot Coulomb correlation is disregarded (noninteracting case) and (ii) the same is taken into account (interacting case). In the situation (i), we verify the presence of the zero-bias anomaly for the both Fano regimes of interference adopted. Furthermore, we found that an isolated Majorana state has a particular way of breaking the symmetry in transmittance profiles, which can be accessed experimentally by performing electrical conductance measurements. In the situation (ii), for interacting quantum dots in resonance, we notice that the ratio between the Coulomb repulsion strength and the wire-dot coupling changes the width of the zero-bias peak for both Fano regimes analyzed. This feature suggests that the electronic correlation modifies the Majorana state lifetime in the dot directly coupled to the wire. Moreover, for the off-resonance situation, the swap between the energy levels of the dots also changes the width of the Majorana peak, which is not observed in the noninteracting case. The results obtained here can guide experimentalists that pursuit a way of revealing Majorana signatures / Mestre

No description available.