Thesis (M. Med. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006.

Thesis (Ph.D.)(Botany)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes summary. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / C4 trituration provings are a somewhat controversial method of uncovering the therapeutic value of homoeopathic remedies. The key advantage of this method over traditional proving methods is that a substance can be proved in a matter of hours, rather than weeks or months. However there is a lack of research to show whether the results of the two methods are comparable. AIM The aim of this study is to establish whether symptoms elicited in a C4 trituration proving are comparable to symptoms produced in traditional provings of the same substance. If a similarity can be demonstrated – even on a single substance – it may encourage further studies to determine the extent to which C4 provings can be used in association with, or instead of, traditional provings as a means of developing homoeopathic remedies. METHOD Ten triturators were recruited from an existing group of experienced triturators to prove an unknown substance. Data were harvested from debriefing sessions and from notes kept by triturators during the sessions, and these were transcribed and converted to rubrics. An unprejudiced repertorisation was undertaken in an (unsuccessful) attempt to identify the substance before unblinding. After the substance was revealed to be Borax, the rubrics from the C4 proving were statistically compared to rubrics associated with Borax in Radar 9.0, the electronic version of the repertory Synthesis: Repertorium Homoeopathicum Syntheticum (2004), which reflects traditional provings of this substance. The statistical comparison of rubrics was performed in SPSS; a Pearson Chi-Square test was applied to establish statistical significance; and a Cramer's V test was used to determine the strength of that association. RESULT The comparison failed to find a significant correlation between the rubrics from the C4 proving of Borax and traditional provings of the same substance. At a chapter level, there were significant associations between symptoms relating to Hearing and Kidneys but, for reasons discussed at length in the report, these results must be treated with circumspection. CONCLUSION While C4 provings are faster than the traditional method, as refined by Sherr, in view of the above findings it cannot be recommended that C4 provings be considered as a means of developing homoeopathic remedies instead of traditional provings, because C4 provings would not produce a complete symptom picture. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations arising from the study include that the exercise should be repeated with a different substance and group of provers, preferably with confidential debriefing of participants (as opposed to group debriefing, which is the norm for C4 provings), to verify these findings.

Orientador: Rosangela da Silva de Laurentiz / Banca: Luciano Alves dos Anjos / Banca: Vanessa de Andrade Royo / Resumo: A Opuntia ficus-indica (O. ficus), pertencente à família Cactaceae, é uma planta nativa do México e conhecida no Brasil como "palma forrageira. Esta planta apresenta propriedades medicinais interessantes. O. ficus tem um bom potencial nutritivo é fácil cultivare muito utilizada na alimentação de pequenos ruminantes especialmente em zonas áridas do nordeste do Brasil. Embora esta planta seja usada como alimento para ovinos, a literatura não contém quaisquer relatórios sobre as suas propriedades anti-helmínticas. Portanto, este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a atividade ovicida e larvicida da O. ficus por meio dos extratos hidroalcoólicos de cladódios e frutas em ensaios de eclosão dos ovos (EHA), desenvolvimento larval (LDA) e migração larval (LMIA) usando ovos e larvas de nematoides gastrointestinais de ovinos naturalmente infectados. Para o EHA foi observada uma inibição da eclodibilidade de ovos maior do que 90% para ambos os brutos extratos dos cladódios e frutos na concentração de 50 mg/mL ou mais elevada (p <0,05). Ambos os extractos mostraram uma resposta dose dependente com o mesmo valor de IC 50 de 9,9 mg/mL. No LDA, o extrato hidroalcoólico bruto dos cladódios mostrou 98,7% de inibição do desenvolvimento das larvas a 12,5 mg/ml, enquanto o extrato hidroalcoólico bruto dos frutos apresentou 100% de atividade a 50 mg/ml, respectivamente, com um IC 50 de 3,4 mg/ml e 3,7 mg/ml (p <0,05). No LMIA, os resultados foram maiores do que 65% de inibição da migração das larvas na a parir da concentração de 1,56 mg/mL com IC 50 de 0,35 mg/mL e 0,76 mg/mL, respectivamente para os extrato brutos dos frutos e cladódios. O fracionamento dos extratos hidroalcoólicos brutos dos frutas e cladódios forneceu quatro fracções. Entre os extratos fraccionados, os extratos aquoso residual e em acetato de etilo dos cladódios, na concentração mais baixa testada (1,56 mg / ml) resultou em 100% de inibição do... / Abstract: Opuntia fícus-indica (O. ficus), which is native to Mexico and is known as "palma forrageira" in Brazil, is a species belonging to the family Cactaceae. This plant displays interesting medicinal properties. O. ficus display good nutritional potential is easy to cultivate and is used as feed for small ruminants feed especially in arid areas of northeastern Brazil. Although this plant serves as food for sheep, the literature does not contain any reports on its anthelmintic properties. This paper reports on the ovicidal and larvicidal activity of O. ficus from hydroalcoholic extracts of cladodes and fruits through egg hatch assay (EHA), the larval development assay (LDA), and the larval migration assay (LMIA) using eggs and larvae of gastrointestinal nematodes of naturally infected sheep. For EHA was observed an egg hatch inhibition greater than 90% for both the crude extracts of cladodes and fruits when using a concentration of 50 mg/mL or higher (p < 0.05). Both extracts showed a dose-dependent response with the same value to LD 50 of 9.9 mg/mL. In the LDA, crude hydroalcoholic extract of cladodes showed 98.7 % of inhibition of larval development at 12.5 mg/ mL while the crude hydroalcoholic extract of fruits showed 100% at 50 mg/mL, respectively with an LD 50 of 3.4 mg/mL and 3.7 mg/mL (p < 0.05). In the LMIA, crude extracts showed results greater than 65% inhibition of larval migration at 1.56 mg/mL revealing LD 50 of 0.35 mg/mL and 0.76 mg/mL for the extract of fruit and cladodes, respectively. Fractionation of the crude hydroalcoholic extracts of fruits and cladodes yielded four fractions. Among the fractionated extracts, the residual aqueous and in ethyl acetate extracts of cladodes, in the lowest concentration tested (1.56 mg/mL) resulted in 100% inhibition of larval development. The same result was obtained for n-hexane and aqueous extract of fruits. Therefore, the LD 50 for LDA could not be calculated for these extracts. The ... / Mestre

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements of the Master’s Degree in Technology: Homoeopathy, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2018. / Aim: The aim of this qualitative study was to determine the homeopathic symptomatology that would arise from a homeopathic drug proving of Anthropoides paradiseus 30CH after it was administered to healthy individuals and to compare the homeopathic symptomatology with selected avian remedies. These avian remedies were Corvus Corax, Acridotheres tristis, Peregrine eagle and Geococcyx californianus. Objectives : Objective 1 The first objective was to determine the proving symptomatology of Anthropoides paradiseus 30CH. This was done as a randomized, double blind placebo controlled homeopathic drug proving in the 30th Hahnemannian potency in 30 healthy volunteers of which 6 were on placebo. Objective 2 : To perform a comparative analysis with selected existing remedies, namely Corvus Corax (Raven), Acridotheres tristis (India myna), Peregrine eagle (Peregrine eagle) and Geococcyx californianus (Roadrunner) all in the avian group. Methodology : The homeopathic drug proving of Anthropoides paradiseus 30CH, was conducted as a double-blind placebo controlled randomized trial with thirty volunteers between the ages of 18 and 75 years old. Provers had a full homoeopathic case history and physical exam performed and thereafter they received their symptom recording journals and the test drug or placebo. Twenty-four of the volunteers received the verum powders whilst the remaining six were administered a placebo (ratio of 4:1). The double-blind design was employed; neither the supervisor, researcher nor the provers themselves knew who received the verum or placebo. The provers recorded their symptoms over a 5 week period. Provers began journaling one week before taking the active drug substance or placebo in order to establish their symptom baseline, and continued recording their symptoms for four weeks after having started the active drug or placebo regime. After the 5 weeks of recording their symptoms, the provers attended a follow-up consultation. After all the journals were collected from the provers, the extraction and collation of the data was conducted, and thereafter the data was presented in Materia Medica and repertory formats. The Results: The homoeopathic drug proving of Anthropoides paradiseus produced a variety of symptoms. The main symptoms belonged to both the mental/emotional and the physical sphere. The symptoms of the mental sphere of this remedy included anxiety, disorientation, mood swings and irritability. The characteristic physical symptoms includes polyuria, polyphagia, polydipsia, headaches, muscle pain and spasms, post-nasal drip, hay-fever, and bloating. Other possible uses might be for the treatment of chest pain, nausea and abdominal cramping. The comparative analysis of the selected avian remedies, namely Falco peregrinus, Corvus corax, Geococcyx californianus and Acridotheres tristis, and Anthropoides paradiseus revealed common mental emotional themes of detachment, a drugged or floating sensation and on the physical sphere the group analysis revealed the following common symptoms: numbness, obstruction, dryness and appetite fluctuations. The conclusion : It was discovered that Anthropoides paradiseus 30CH produced symptoms that can be used in the treatment of attention deficit disorder, mood swings, anxiety, pre-diabetes, hay fever, sinusitis, muscle pain and spasms, gastroenteritis and headaches. It was also determined that the remedy, according to the correlating themes, belonged to the AIDS miasm. The conclusion of the group comparison generated the following themes and symptoms: detachment, drugged sensation, restriction, neurological symptoms, obstruction, dryness and appetite fluctuations. / M

GABA is a well established inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS, which has an opposing role to its precursor, glutamate, which is an excitatory neurotransmitter. In the CNS, both GABA and glutamate have multifunctional roles that are essential for normal brain functioning, which includes the regulation of cerebral blood flow. Both GABA and glutamate have been shown to induce pericyte-mediated changes in blood flow in the retinae and in the cerebellum, respectively. Pericytes are expressed throughout all mammalian tissue including the kidney, and they are renowned for their contractile nature and their ability to modulate capillary diameter. An increasing number of publications have suggested that both GABA and glutamate might also play a role in the regulation of renal function. All key enzymes associated with GABA/ glutamate metabolism have been localised to the kidney providing the necessary machinery for localised GABA/ glutamate synthesis and metabolism. Despite the collective evidence describing the presence of a GABA/ glutamate system in the kidney, the precise function of such a system requires further clarification. The work presented in this thesis is principally concerned with establishing the physiological role(s) of the GABA and glutamate system in the kidney. This thesis seeks to address this question using a live kidney slice model to investigate pericyte-mediated real-time changes in vasa recta diameter in response to GABA, glutamate and associated compounds. Confocal microscopy techniques were used to confirm the expression of key components in the GABA shunt pathway, in relation to the renal medulla. Data presented here, highlights a novel role for both GABA and glutamate, expressed in both vascular and tubular compartments in the renal medulla, to induce pericyte- mediated regulation of vasa recta diameter, and therefore medullary blood flow. The second aspect of this thesis focuses on determining whether functional GABA receptors exist within renal tissue, focusing specifically on their expression within the cortical collecting duct. Electrophysiological experimental data highlights that functional GABA receptors exist in a renal cell line, which serves to modulate solute transport. In conclusion, this thesis highlights that GABA is able to modulate both vascular and tubular aspects of renal function. While, glutamate, and its co- agonist, glycine, have an opposing effect to GABA, and serve to induce vasodilation. The results of this work highlight new key players that affect renal function, which may be significant in both health and disease.

Alkaptonuria (AKU) is an ultra-rare, autosomal recessive disorder of tyrosine catabolism due to mutations within the homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase (HGD) gene. The resulting enzyme deficiency leads to accumulation of homogentisic acid (HGA) and deposition of melanin-like pigment polymers in the connective tissues of the body in a process called ochronosis. This leads to debilitating early onset osteoarthropathy, renal damage and aortic valve disease. As a multisystem disorder, AKU results in progressive and chronic pain and severe morbidity. Most management approaches for AKU are palliative and rely largely on analgesia and arthroplasty. Several therapeutic approaches have been tested with low degrees of clinical effectiveness. Nitisinone is a promising drug that blocks the enzyme catalysing the formation of HGA and thus lowers its plasma concentration. HGA lowering therapy has been widely used in another rare inborn error of metabolism, Hereditary Tyrosinemia type 1 (HT-1) for over 20 years. Nitisinone is highly efficacious in terms of its metabolic effect as it decreases HGA to very low levels, but there is limited toxicology data available for its use in AKU. There are also concerns relating to the adverse side effects of elevated tyrosine and potential neurotoxicity if treatment was implemented in children. The work presented within this thesis presents novel findings to inform the future licensing process for the use of nitisinone in AKU and investigates the safety of implementing treatment in younger patients. Nitisinone treatment had no detrimental effect on learning, memory or motor function in young AKU or wild type mice. The thesis also includes new data from mouse dosing studies concerning the correlation between plasma HGA and ochronotic pigmentation and reveals that plasma HGA must be lowered to a critical level before pigmentation is beneficially reduced. Finally, this thesis reports on the lability of the arteriovenous metabolome relating to AKU and initiates a discussion relating to the HPPA to HPLA excretory conversion pathway along with important considerations for collection, analysis and comparison of blood samples in future studies.

Antibiotic resistance is recognised as an international health concern due to its potential to increase morbidity and mortality from illnesses that are currently treatable. Antibiotic prescribing by GPs in primary care has been shown to directly contribute to rates of antibiotic resistance. Many interventions have been introduced across European countries in an attempt to promote prudent use of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections in primary care. Exploring GPs' views and experiences of interventions to promote prudent antibiotic use can help to understand what is viewed as acceptable by GPs and what may encourage behaviour change. In addition, investigating these views across countries can highlight any similarities and differences between contexts and examine whether interventions which are acceptable, feasible and potentially effective in one context may be appropriate for implementation in others. The main aim of this research was to explore GPs' and experts' views and experiences of antibiotic prescribing and interventions to promote prudent antibiotic use in the management of RTIs. If professionals hold different views there is a need to develop interventions for each country, whereas if professionals hold similar views then an intervention which is acceptable in one country can be implemented in others. Two qualitative studies were carried out to explore GPs' and experts' views of antibiotic prescribing and interventions to promote prudent use across five European countries. The results of both studies revealed consistent views despite differences in context, indicating that both GPs and experts who develop interventions held similar beliefs about the acceptability and feasibility of different types of interventions. Secondly, a systematic review was undertaken which synthesised all qualitative work which had explored GPs' views on antibiotic prescribing or interventions to promote prudent use. The review incorporated studies from several countries and produced a model highlighting seven factors which influence GPs' prescribing decisions and aspects of interventions which could address these factors. The findings of this thesis reveal the barriers experienced by GPs in prudent antibiotic prescribing and suggest that it is suitable to develop an intervention to promote prudent antibiotic use for implementation at an international level.

No description available.

Submitted by Duarte Zeny (zenydu@gmail.com) on 2013-01-26T14:33:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO PRONTA 1.pdf: 1328417 bytes, checksum: ff9759c94f6764534649e06122311f2b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-01-26T14:33:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO PRONTA 1.pdf: 1328417 bytes, checksum: ff9759c94f6764534649e06122311f2b (MD5) / Os médicos em sua prática clínica vivenciam necessidades de informação muito específicas, em relação às quais características como exatidão, confiabilidade e presteza são fundamentais. Face ao crescente volume da literatura médica corrente, esses profissionais têm encontrado dificuldade para superar os obstáculos e obter acesso a informações que facilitariam o atendimento de seus pacientes. Com o objetivo de investigar o comportamento informacional do médico decorrente das necessidades surgidas durante o atendimento ao paciente, realizou-se uma pesquisa com um grupo de 73 médicos-residentes do Hospital Universitário Prof. Edgar Santos, da Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, da Universidade Federal da Bahia. A população foi examinada utilizando a técnica do survey, e do incidente crítico através da aplicação de um questionário. Os resultados mostram que o grupo de médicos-residentes estudado tem necessidades de informação científica para sua prática clínica, especialmente sobre os temas relacionados ao tratamento medicamentoso e ao diagnóstico, e que, devido às características específicas do grupo, essas necessidades se fundem com uma necessidade de informação mais ampla e ao mesmo tempo básica. E, nesse sentido, eles priorizam informações que são encontradas através da consulta ao médico-supervisor ou mais experiente, ou através dos livros da sua coleção particular. Os recursos tecnológicos disponíveis ainda são pouco utilizados, devido, em parte, à falta de tempo, às dificuldades com o manejo ou ao desconhecimento dos mesmos. A biblioteca, pouco visitada, não apresenta grande utilidade para esta população, que considerou os acervos escassos e desatualizados, desconhecendo o papel do bibliotecário. Estas afirmações contribuem para concluir que para o profissional da informação especializado na área médica parece haver um importante papel a desempenhar nesse cenário, desde que o mesmo invista no desenvolvimento de habilidades e conhecimentos específicos para essa atuação. As intervenções dos serviços informacionais devem ser pensadas de forma a atender as particularidades do contexto que envolve os médicos-residentes, pois estes representam uma categoria específica, que os situa entre profissionais e estudantes, que pouco tem sido estudada. / Salvador