In South Africa part of the cultural and religious beliefs of the African people is the use of traditional remedies to treat diseases. These remedies are obtained from medicinal plants (Steenkamp, 2003). One of the most frequently traded plants in the Eastern Cape is Hypoxis, commonly known as Afrika patat, or African potato. South African traditional healers instruct patients to brew the fresh Hypoxis corm as a tea and then ingest it (Steenkamp, 2006a). This prompted an investigation into the digestive stability of a traditionally prepared Hypoxis extract. The H. sobolifera extracts were digested using a simulated gastric/small intestinal digestion and their biological activity determined. The hot water H. sobolifera extract before digestion only showed cytotoxic activity against cancer cell lines at very high concentrations which are not likely to be achieved under normal ingestion circumstances. In Chang liver cells on the other hand, chronic exposure to the hot water H. sobolifera extract increased glucose uptake in amounts similar to that of metformin. On the negative side, the glucose utilization stimulation was lost due to the simulated digestion process. The significant inhibition of AGEs by hot water H. sobolifera extract (IC50 of 6.3 Ig/ml) is a very encouraging result as treatment in the management of diabetes. This activity was only slightly reduced by the in vitro digestion process. Also observed was enzyme inhibition activity by traditionally prepared H. sobolifera, with ∝-amylase being inhibited (IC50 of approximately 250 Ig/ml) and therefore preventing or limiting starch breakdown. From the DPPH results it was clear that H. sobolifera, even when digested, is a potent anti-oxidant (IC50 of 134.4 Ig/ml when undigested compared to 162.9 when digested with β-glucosidase added to stomach digestive step). HPLC and TLC experiments revealed that rooperol which has previously been thought to be the compound responsible for the anti-oxidant activity in Hypoxis extracts, was absent from the traditional extract of H. sobolifera and therefore cannot be the sole compound exhibiting anti-oxidant activity; other compounds such as phenolics may be contributing. The phenolic and flavonoid content results revealed very highconcentrations of these compounds in the traditionally prepared H. sobolifera extract. These compounds may therefore play major roles in all of the biological activities observed from treatment with Hypoxis spp. The ROS results yielded interesting and promising results. Using standard or traditionally prepared H. sobolifera extracts, activation of differentiated U937 cells with PMA was greatly enhanced by cotreatment with the extracts, while extracts on their own did not cause significant activation. Future studies should investigate this property of the extracts as a promising immune boosterThe HPLC results showed that hypoxoside was undetectable in the hot water traditional extract and the TLC anti-oxidant experiment proved that rooperol is not present in the hot water traditional extract after treatment with β-glucosidase. This indicates that neither one of the Hypoxis compounds previously believed to be responsible for the biological activities observed are present in the extract when prepared the traditional way. Therefore, the biological activities observed in this study can be attributed to other phytochemical compounds.

The intent of this research is to demonstrate the effectiveness of hypnosis as a treatment for school refusal. The research design is a single-case study employing an A-B Follow-up format. The 10 year old male subject completed measures of personality (The Children's Personality Questionnaire), self-concept (The Piers-Harris Children's Self-concept Scale), identified stressors, and anxiety. The baseline period was two weeks and therapy lasted four weeks. Follow-up data was collected on the same measures ten months later. All post-therapy results indicate change in a more adaptive direction. The subject showed increased self-concept, lessened anxiety, greater ability to cope and he returned to school with little or no of the previous psychosomatic complaints evident. The follow-up results show that the subject has maintained his gains. Hypnosis is seen as an effective, fast method of treatment for school refusal, a syndrome which needs to be dealt with quickly since consequences can be severe for the child. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Ph.D. (Chemistry) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

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In the veterinary industry, long acting oxytetracycline formulations are loosely referred to as those formulations that only require a single dose at 20 mg/kg to achieve clinical cure and to be repeated after three days only if required. Short acting oxytetracycline formulations are recommended for use once a day for four days, at a dose of 10 mg/kg IV and 10mg/kg IM on day one, 10 mg/kg IM on day two and 5 mg/kg IM on days three and four. The primary objective of this study is to demonstrate that, based on pharmacokinetics, a double dose of a conventional short acting, 135mg/ml formulation of oxytetracycline has a longer action than a single dose of the same formulation. As a secondary objective the efficacy and safety of a single, double dose of a conventional oxytetracycline formulation are compared to multiple, single doses of a conventional formulation as well against a single dose of a long-acting formulation. Factors that influence the duration of action of a parenteral oxytetracycline formulation are reviewed, as are the pharmacokinetic / pharmacodynamic relationship of oxytetracycline. A single dose, randomized, two treatment, two sequence cross-over experimental design as described by Grizzle (1965) was selected for this study. The washout period between the two sequences was determined using at least 5 half-lives (11.1 hours x 5) of conventional oxytetracycline formulation , based on a study by Davey et al (1985) Although a wash-out period of 55.5 hours for a dose rate 20 mg/kg of oxytetracycline would have sufficed to ensure the absence of any residual drug in the central compartment of the experimental animals, it was decided to extend the washout period between treatment periods to 7 days (168 hours) for mainly practical reasons. Sample size determination was based on the rejection of the null hypothesis as described by Anderson and Hauck (1983). 5 animals per treatment group were selected. The sheep were equally and randomly assigned to either the group that would receive the 10 mg/kg dose first (group 1), or the group that would receive the 20 mg/kg dose first (group 2). For the cross over treatment (phase 2), the animals remained in the groups they were allocated to for phase 1, but group 1 received the 20 mg/kg dose and group 2 received the 10 mg/kg dose. The volume of oxytetracycline was calculated based on a product oxytetracycline content of 135 mg/ml. The blood sample collection procedure was the same for phases (treatments) 1 and 2. Time 0 was the time of treatment. Samples were collected into 10ml lithium heparinized vacutainer glass tubes with 19G disposable needles at the following intervals (hrs): 0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96. The oxytetracycline concentrations in plasma were determined using validated High Performance Liquid Chromatographic methodology. The difference between the 2 sets of results emanating from phase 1 and phase 2 of the study are used as basis for presenting the results. Three pharmacokinetic parameters were used to compare the 2 treatments: Cmax (maximum plasma concentration) , AUCinf (Total area under the concentration curve) and T>0.5 (Time that the drug concentration remains above 0.5 ìg/ml). The geometric means of the results show that: The 20mg/kg treatment maintains levels above 0.5 ìg/ml significantly longer than the 10 mg/kg treatment. (37.4 hours versus 24 hours; p value 0.0013) The 20 mg/kg dose reaches a significantly higher concentration than does the 10 mg/kg dose. (6.59ìg/ml versus 3.55ìg/ml; p value 0.000000) The 20mg/kg treatment has an AUCinf which is greater than the 10 mg/kg treatment by a highly significant margin. (120.63 ìg/ml*hr versus 71.63 ìg/ml*hr; p value 0.000001) In demonstrating that a conventional oxytetracycline formulation administered intramuscularly at double dose provides drug plasma concentrations above MIC for an average duration of 13 hours longer than a single dose, the primary objective of the study was achieved. The study demonstrated that a single dose at 20 mg/kg of a conventional oxytetracycline formulation offers an acceptable alternative to conventional treatment regimes in terms of efficacy, target animal safety, as well as convenience to the user. / Dissertation (MMedVet)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Paraclinical Sciences / unrestricted

Autism is a disorder that has increased in numbers and prevalence within today’s society. Though no cure has been found, recent studies have focused on different therapeutic intervention techniques offered to autistic individuals, including the use of Therapeutic Horseback Riding. This study analyzes the relationship of therapeutic horseback riding on gross motor function in children with Autism. Four children participated in a ten week previously established therapeutic horseback riding program at French Camp, Mississippi. Gross motor function was assessed before and after five riding sessions by recording performances of eleven skills from Motor Skills Inventory (MSI). Only two participants completed all riding sessions and MSI assessments to be eligible for this study. Statistical analysis was conducted using Friedman’s Two Way Analysis of Variance by Ranks. There were no significant differences in the assessments before/after the riding sessions as well as the entire period of the ten week program.

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Prophylactic and therapeutic antibiotic treatments have the potential to increase excretion of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by dairy cattle through selection pressure on the gut microbiome. The objective of these studies was to evaluate the effect of cephapirin benzathine administered prophylactically at the end of lactation and pirlimycin hydrochloride administered therapeutically during a clinical mastitis infection on the abundance and relative abundance of ARGs in dairy cow feces. For prophylactic treatment using cephapirin benzathine, nineteen end-of-lactation cows were used. Treatment cows (n = 9) received cephapirin benzathine as an intramammary infusion prior to dry-off, and control cows (n =10) received no antibiotics. All cows received an internal non-antibiotic teat sealant. Fecal grab samples were collected for each cow on d -2 (baseline, used as covariate), d 1, 3, 5, 7, and once per week until d 49. Fecal samples were collected in sterile containers, then freeze-dried and subject to DNA extraction. The abundance of ampC, blaCMY-2, ermB, sul1, tetO, tetW, integrase-specific gene int1, and 16S rRNA were quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The genes ampC and blaCMY-2 encode resistance to ß-lactam antibiotics, ermB to macrolides, sul1 to sulfonamides, tetO and tetW to tetracyclines, and int1 a class-1 integrase gene that facilitates horizontal transfer of ARGs across bacteria. The 16S rRNA gene was used as a representation of bacterial population. Absolute abundance was defined as number of ARG copies per gram of freeze-dried feces, while relative abundance was defined as ARG copy numbers per copy of 16S rRNA gene, which is indicative of the proportion of bacteria carrying ARGs. Non-normal data were logarithmically transformed and were statistically analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX in SAS 9.2. Abundance and relative abundance of sul1 and blaCMY-2 were below the limit of quantification in most samples and therefore not suitable for statistical comparisons. The int1 gene was not detectable in any sample. There were significant interactions between treatment and day for the abundance and relative abundance of ampC, tetO, and tetW. The abundance and relative abundance of ampC increased with time in control cows while remaining constant in antibiotic treated cows through the dry period. Antibiotics may act to stabilize the gut microbiome in response to diet and housing changes. There was a significant main effect of treatment for ermB with a significantly greater proportion of bacteria carrying ermB in control cows when compared to antibiotic treated cows. The tetracycline resistance genes tetO and tetW behaved similarly with a significant treatment by day interaction for the abundance and relative abundance of both genes. The relative abundance of both tetO and tetW were greater in control cows when compared to antibiotic treated cows on days 3, 5, 7, and 14. The abundance of both tetO and tetW resistance genes increased in antibiotic treated cows from day 1 to 49. There was also a significant increase in tetW relative abundance when comparing day 1 to 49. Administering long-acting antibiotics as intramammary dry treatment changed fecal bacteria composition during the dry period perhaps by stabilizing GI bacteria through dietary and housing changes. However, the use of prophylactic dry cow treatment does not uniformly or predictably lead to changes in fecal ARGs. In a second study, after clinical mastitis detection and identification, 6 lactating dairy cows received therapeutic mastitis treatment (pirlimycin hydrochloride as an intramammary infusion). Fecal grab samples were collected from each cow on d 0, 3, 9, and 12. Collection and analytical methods were as previously described. Abundance and relative abundance of sul1 and blaCMY-2 were again below the limit of quantification and therefore not suitable for statistical comparison. The int1 gene was not detected in any sample. The abundance of 16S rRNA genes decreased with day and relative abundance ermB, tetO, and tetW increased with day. There was no significant effect of day on the relative abundance of ampC or the abundance of ampC, ermB, tetO, and tetW in feces of cows with clinical mastitis. Administering fast-acting antibiotics as therapeutic intramammary mastitis treatment to dairy cows increased the relative abundance (gene copies per 16S rRNA) of selected ARGs but not the total abundance of ARGs in feces. The use of antibiotics for prevention and treatment of bacterial infections does not uniformly or predictably increase ARGs. / Master of Science