The aim of this investigation was to monitor attitudinal changes of staff and students participating in undergraduate professional programmes to the implementation of shared learning over a four-year period. The programmes being studied were the BSc. Occupational Therapy, BSc. Diagnostic Radiography and BSc. Therapeutic Radiography Honours degrees. Each validated programme contained some syllabus areas that were taught together i.e. were shared across the professions. Initially, after a review of the existing literature on this issue, a questionnaire was designed as a research tool to enable both qualitative and quantitative data to be collected and analysed. The quantitative sections of the questionnaire were checked for reliability throughout the four years and achieved positive Cronbach Alpha results ranging from .7083 to .8984 in the four main concepts under investigation, namely the Pitfalls, Benefits, Curriculum Aspects and Social Aspects of the shared programmes. Over the four year period a total of 418 student questionnaires were collected and analysed. In addition to the quantitative data collected, qualitative data were also collected from the questionnaire from extracts of the minutes of Course Committee and Examination Board meetings and from videos of tutorials and seminars. All of these were analysed. The results showed fluctuations in the attitudes of both staff and students to shared learning over the four year period, but all those who participated showed a net favourable change in attitude by the end of the research investigation.

M.Tech. / Haemostasis is an internal mechanism to stop bleeding from a damaged blood vessel. Conceptually this process occurs in a number of essential steps following tissue injury. Although the herbal preparation of Arnica montana has been well documented for its tendency to prolong bleeding, according to the Law of Similars, homeopathically prepared Arnica montana 6C is well indicated for traumatic injuries and post surgical bruising. Arnica montana 6C can be used when there is mechanical trauma that causes wounds, haemorrhages, haematomas, sore-bruised bone and muscular pains, inflammations, fractures, muscular strains and sprains. The remedy is often prescribed before and immediately after surgery to reduce post-operative pain and to speed up recuperation. Three in vitro studies conducted at the Technikon Witwatersrand (now the University of Johannesburg) on various potencies of homeopathically prepared Arnica montana showed lowered overall coagubility of blood, but no significant difference between the experimental and control groups. Bengsch (2000), Hohl (2005), Vermeulen (2000) and van Tonder (2005) recommended that studies on the effect of homeopathically prepared Arnica montana on blood coagulability be repeated in vivo. This study formed part of a three part in vivo study to determine the effect of Arnica montana homeopathic preparations on blood coagulation by measuring the Bleeding Time (BT), activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aP'TT) and Prothrombin Time (PT). This study investigated the effect of Arnica montana 6C on these measurements. Eighty participants were allocated a participant number and randomised by the research supervisor into four groups of twenty participants. Twenty participants were in the placebo group that was shared by all three studies. Twenty participants were allocated to the experimental group for this study. The study was conducted over a period of two weeks at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) Doomfontein Campus Homeopathy Health Centre. Consenting participants were screened by means of a questionnaire (Appendix D) regarding relevant medical history and other background information. A case history was taken and a physical examination was performed. Any prospective participants that were diagnosed with and/or suffer from hypertension, hypotension, heart disease, a iii bleeding disorder, anaemia, iron or any vitamin deficiency, liver disease, malaria or are currently on aspirin or anticoagulants (Appendix D) were excluded from the study. The bleeding time was measured by a trained medical technologist using a standardised bleeding time technique. Blood samples drawn by a phlebotomist went for coagulation tests comprising of aPTT and PT at the NHLS Main Haematology laboratory of the Johannesburg Hospital. Twenty participants were given a 25mL bottle of Arnica montana 6C in 20% ethanol. Twenty participants received an identical bottle containing only 20% ethanol. All participants were requested to take ten drops twice a day for two weeks. All three coagulation test measurements were performed again at the end of the second week. The BT, PT and aPTT results were analysed by using ordinary descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation. Changes over time in blood coagulation were ascertained utilising ANOVA (analysis of variance). The results showed that there is no statistically significant difference between the experimental and control group in BT, aPTT and PT. There was also no statistically significant difference between the first BT, PT and aPTT before medication and the second BT, PT and aPTT after two weeks of medication. The results of the study support the hypothesis that Arnica montana 6C would have no effect on the bleeding or coagulation times in vivo. These results support the view that prescribing the remedy before surgery is not likely to increase the post surgical risk of haemorrhage

The main focus of this research was to explore how counselling psychologists experience what that they cannot understand in the therapeutic process. The study focuses on how counselling psychologists make sense of and manage these experiences, as well as the role such experiences play in therapy. Although the existence of such occurrences are acknowledged in the foundations of many therapeutic approaches (Bion, 1970; Bugental, 1990; Freud 1915; Jung, 1923; Maslow, 1971; Ogden, 1999; Perls, 1973; Rogers, 1961; Stern, 2004) , there seems to be a lack of research in relation to how these phenomena are experienced and what role they play in the therapeutic process. Eight counselling psychologists with ten years of experience in clinical practice were recruited and interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Different aspects of these experiences were explored through applying the qualitative method known as Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith, 2004). The findings suggest that the way counselling psychologists experience phenomena that cannot be understood strongly relates to anxiety, fear and uncertainty, drawing attention to deep feelings of vulnerability and insecurity. The results demonstrate the ambivalent meanings of such experiences in the therapeutic process, and their significance in the process of therapy. The thesis also comprises the way in which counselling psychologists spoke about these phenomena and how these occurrences were managed by counselling psychologists. Some conclusions were made about what kind of knowledge counselling psychologists relied on while making sense of such phenomena. The recommendations made as a result of the research show validity as they closely relate to the way counselling psychologists explore their own identity as professionals. Also, the research highlighted the essentiality of exploring the role of theoretical knowledge and reflexivity for counselling psychologists. The research also explores unanticipated findings such as the existence of those experiences that need to remain undefinable and the ability of counselling psychologists to let go of the need to make sense of phenomena. The study also addresses the limitations and implications of the research, and suggestions for further research are indicated.

Melanoma is the leading cause of skin cancer-related death. The STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) and TLR4 (toll-like receptor 4) signaling pathways have been shown to be activated in melanoma. Activation of each of the two pathways can promote melanoma growth, angiogenesis and metastasis. Suppressing TLR4 signaling or STAT3 signaling has been proposed as an approach for melanoma management although the TLR4/STAT3 pathway has not yet been established in melanoma. Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma (Baizhu in Chinese), a Qi-tonifying Chinese medicinal herb, is commonly prescribed by Chinese medicine doctors for treating melanoma. Our previous studies demonstrated that atractylenolide II (AT-II), isolated from Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma, could induce apoptosis, and inhibit proliferation and migration in B16 melanoma cells. However, the antimelanoma properties of AT-II and the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully understood. In this study, we further investigated the antimelanoma effects of AT-II in vivo and in vitro, and explored the TLR4/STAT3 signaling-related mechanism of action of AT-II. In conclusion, we established the TLR4/STAT3 pathway in melanoma, which provides novel insight into melanoma pathophysiology. We demonstrated that AT-II exerted antimelanoma effects in vivo and in vitro, and inhibition of TLR4/STAT3 signaling contributed to these effects. These findings advanced our understanding of the antimelanoma properties and the underlying mechanism of action of AT-II, and provided a chemical and pharmacological justification for the clinical application of Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma in melanoma management. This contribution is significant because it is one step in a continuum of research that is expected to lead to future clinical trials of AT-II as a novel antimelanoma agent. Results showed that AT-II induced apoptosis, and inhibited proliferation, migration and invasion in multiple melanoma cells, and significantly inhibited melanoma growth, angiogenesis and metastasis in mice. AT-II suppressed the activation of STAT3 and Src (a STAT3 upstream tyrosine kinase) in mouse melanoma tissues and inhibited the EGFR/Src/STAT3 signaling in cultured melanoma cells. The free binding energy of AT-II with EGFR (an upstream receptor tyrosine kinase of STAT3) was relatively low in molecular docking assays, suggesting that AT-II might inhibit EGFR activation via other molecules. We found that activation of TLR4 enhanced EGFR/Src/STAT3 signaling in melanoma cells, and activation of the TLR4/STAT3 pathway contributed to melanoma progression in vivo and in vitro. These observations suggested that the TLR4/STAT3 pathway was established in melanoma. Molecular docking showed that AT-II could bind to the TLR4/MD-2 receptor complex. AT-II reduced the binding of LPS (a TLR4 ligand) to TLR4, and inhibited LPS-triggered activation of EGFR/Src/STAT3 signaling as well as LPS or MPLAs (synthetic monophosphoryl lipid A, a TLR4 agonist) induced invasion in melanoma cells. Overexpression of a constitutively active variant of STAT3 (STAT3C) in A375 cells diminished anti-proliferative, apoptotic and anti-invasive effects of AT-II; and overexpression of an active form of TLR4 in A375 cells diminished AT-II-exerted anti-invasive effects in cultured cells, and attenuated the inhibitory effects of AT-II on tumor growth and angiogenesis in mice. These suggested that suppression of TLR4/STAT3 signaling contributed to the antimelanoma effects of AT-II.

M. Tech. / Phototobiomodulation (PBM), also known as low level laser therapy (LLLT) or photobiostimulation, is a non-invasive form of therapy that utilizes low intensity laser light or irradiation to provide healing. However, in order for healing to be successful certain laser parameters need to be taken into consideration i.e. fluence (dosage), wavelength and power density. Laser therapy has been used for various medical applications and fields. Multiple cytokines and growth factors are involved in wound healing including Interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6 and Tumour Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF- a). In diseased state(s) such as diabetes mellitus (DM) or psoriasis, these growth factors or cytokines are either found elevated or decreased depending on various factors and for abnormally prolonged periods. However, inflammatory cytokines are usually elevated. Phototherapy has been reported to accelerate wound healing, attenuate pain and cease inflammation. However, the effect of phototherapy on cytokine modulation has not been explored extensively, especially under various stress mechanisms. Furthermore, the pathway that laser irradiation induces on modulated pro-inflammatory cytokines has not been clearly elucidated as scientists typically report on the up- or down-regulated expression of cytokines. Numerous authors have reported on the efficacy of laser irradiation to enhance the rate of wound healing and proliferation in normal and diabetic cells or tissue; however, literature that has demonstrated the latter on hypoxic insulted cells is inadequate. In this study hypoxic insult was induced as it is one of the factors that usually prolong the healing process in diabetic wounds. Prior to commencing with the main study, a pilot study was done to exclude the effect of osmotic pressure on cells grown in media containing additional glucose, and thus simulating a diabetic model iv in vitro. Mannitol was used as a control since it is not absorbed by the cells. The study involved four groups namely: normal, normal wounded, mannitol wounded and diabetic wounded cells with each group having a non-irradiated control. Mannitol wounded and diabetic wounded cells had a final concentration of 30 mM mannitol and glucose respectively. A wavelength of 636 nm at a fluence of 5 J/cm2 was used on day 1; experiments were repeated four times and all tests were done in duplicate. Cellular responses (Trypan Blue, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)) and morphological changes were assessed after 1 h incubation post-irradiation in both irradiated and non-irradiated cultures.

M.Tech. (Homoeopathy) / Haemostasis is defined as the arrest of bleeding by formation of a haemostatic plug or clot. The herb Arnica montana interferes with this process thus resulting in increased bleeding. Homoeopathic physicians use Arnica montana in a potentised form for the treatment of post-operative swelling, pain and ecchymosis but little is known on what effect this potentised form of Arnica montana has on blood coagulation and bleeding time. This study forms part of a three part in vivo study to determine the effects of various homoeopathic potencies of Arnica montana on blood coagulation. This was done by measuring the Bleeding Time (BT), activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (aPTT) and the International Normalised Ratio (INR) of Prothrombin Time (PT). The aim of this particular study is to investigate the in vivo effect of Arnica montana 30C on blood coagulation and Bleeding Time. This study is a double blind, placebo controlled study that took place over a period of two weeks. A total sample group for the three part study consisted of eighty healthy participants between the ages of eighteen to thirty five. Consenting participants that met the criteria were randomised into four groups of twenty each. One group for each part of the three part study were the experimental group and one group was allocated to the placebo group that was shared by all three studies. BT was taken as well as blood samples which underwent coagulation tests (aPTT and INR). Twenty participants received Arnica montana 30C in 20% ethanol and twenty participants received an identical bottle containing 20% ethanol. After two weeks another blood sample was taken where all three coagulation test measurements were repeated. The results of the BT, INR and aPTT were analysed using Statkon Statistical Package for Social Sciences. This showed no statistical difference between the experimental or control group with regard to BT, INR and aPTT. The results indicate that Arnica montana 30C appears to have no effect on Bleeding Time..

There has been an upsurge in the use of Complementary and Alternate Medicines (CAMs) in both developed and developing countries. Although herbal medicines have been in use for many centuries, their quality, safety and efficacy are still of major concern. Many countries are in the process of integrating CAMs into conventional health care systems based on the knowledge and use of traditional medicines. The quality control (QC) of herbal products usually presents a formidable analytical challenge in view of the complexity of the constituents in plant material and the commercial non-availability of appropriate qualified reference standards. Sceletium, a genus belonging to the family Aizoaceae, has been reported to contain psychoactive alkaloids, specifically mesembrine, mesembrenone, mesembrenol and some other related alkaloids. Sceletium is marketed as dried plant powder and as phyto-pharmaceutical dosage forms. Sceletium products and plant material marketed through health shops and on the internet are associated with unjustified claims of specific therapeutic efficacy and may be of dubious quality. Validated analytical methods to estimate Sceletium alkaloids have not previously been reported in the scientific literature and the available methods have focused only on qualitative estimation. Furthermore, since appropriate markers were not commercially available for use as reference standards, a primary objective of this study was to isolate relevant compounds, qualify them as reference standards which could be applied to develop appropriate validated qualitative and quantitative analytical methods for fingerprinting and assay of Sceletium plant material and dosage forms. The alkaloidal markers mesembrine, mesembrenone and ∆⁷ mesembrenone were isolated by solvent extraction and chromatography from dried plant material. Mesembranol and epimesembranol were synthesised by hydrogenation of the isolated mesembrine using the catalyst platinum (IV) oxide and then further purified by semi-preparative column chromatography. All compounds were subjected to analysis by ¹H, ¹³C, 2-D nuclear magnetic resonance and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy. Mesembrine was converted to hydrochloride crystals and mesembranol was isolated as crystals from the hydrogenation reaction mass. These compounds were analysed and characterised by X-ray crystallography. A relatively simple HPLC method for the separation and quantitative analysis of five relevant alkaloidal components in Sceletium was developed and validated. The method was applied to determine the alkaloids in plant material and dosage forms containing Sceletium. An LCMS method developed during the study provided accurate identification of the five relevant Sceletium alkaloids. The method was applied for the quantitative analysis and QC of Sceletium plant material and its dosage forms. This LCMS method was found to efficiently ionize the relevant alkaloidal markers in order to facilitate their detection, identification and quantification in Sceletium plant material as well as for the assay and QC of dosage forms containing Sceletium. The chemotaxonomy of some Sceletium species and commercially available Sceletium dosage forms were successfully studied by the LCMS method. The HPLC and LCMS methods were also used to monitor the bio-conversion of some of the alkaloids while processing the plant material as per traditional method of fermentation. Additionally a high resolution CZE method was developed for the separation of several Sceletium alkaloids in relatively short analysis times. This analytical method was used successfully to fingerprint the alkaloids and quantify mesembrine in Sceletium and its products. Sceletium species grown under varying conditions at different locations, when analyzed, showed major differences in their composition of alkaloids and an enormous difference was found to exist between the various species with respect to the presence and content of alkaloids. Sceletium and its products marketed through health shops and the internet may thus have problems with respect to the quality and related therapeutic efficacy. The QC of Sceletium presents a formidable challenge as Sceletium plants and products contain a complex mixture of compounds. The work presented herein contributes to a growing body of scientific knowledge to improve the QC standards of herbal medicines and also to provide vital information regarding the selection of plant species and information on the specific alkaloidal constituents to the cultivators of Sceletium and the manufacturers of its products.

Transitions are an inevitable part of the human experience. This inquiry aimed to investigate how psychologists experienced some personal transitions in relation to their clinical work. The two examples of transitions investigated were a personal bereavement and the decision to live without a Christian faith. There were two purposive samples of psychologists in this inquiry, one for each transition. This phenomenological study used an adapted version of Moustakas‟s heuristic inquiry which emphasised co-construction. This inquiry found that transitions affected the author‟s and participants‟ therapeutic practice in each study in idiosyncratic ways. Some effects were changes in personal philosophy, increased empathy and an increased ability to work therapeutically with clients experiencing transitions. Some of the implications of these affects were on the therapists‟ use of personal experiences in clinical work, fitness to practise and the development of empathy. Conducting this inquiry led to the researcher‟s personal and professional development, comparable to personal therapy. Examples of the researcher‟s personal development were increased self-reflection and ability to cope with vulnerability. Examples of the researcher‟s professional development were an increased understanding of transition theory and its application in clinical work, and a greater focus on facilitating clients to identify specific resources and coping mechanisms during transition. The implications of the findings of this inquiry for Counselling Psychology were on the importance of therapists‟ self-care and its promotion within applied psychology, the role of reflexive research methods in psychology training and the content of clinical supervision. Specific areas of further research were highlighted including targeted aspects of self-care, the personal effects of leaving religious sects and the relevance of research in the personal development requirement of training. Limitations of the studies were critiqued with reference to phenomenology and phenomenological methods and the use of an adapted version of heuristic inquiry.

Therapeutic alliance is an umbrella term referring to core aspects of the interaction and relationship between patient and practitioner during treatment. It has long been considered an important component of success in psychological and medical treatments. A survey of practitioners in child mental health (Kazdin, 1997) found that 95% thought that the relationship with the patient was the most important predictor of treatment outcome; there is research evidence suggesting the significant impact of alliance quality on outcome in adults and children, for both psychological (Martin et al., 2000, Shirk and Karver, 2003; Shirk, Karver and Brown, 2011) and general medical (Burkitt-Wright et al., 2004) treatments. Alliance, however, has been relatively little researched in childhood and until recently the emphasis (in both research and training) has been much more on the protocol details of treatment methods as opposed to detailed understanding of treatment process and the practitioner-patient relationship. Studies reporting associations between therapeutic alliance and treatment outcome have often been weakened by methodological difficulties in measurement and have failed to settle the direction of causality between symptom change and alliance (Kazdin and Nock, 2003). In treatment trials, alliance is often only measured in the experimental arm; this makes analysis of its effect difficult (Dunn and Bentall, 2007, and Emsley et al., 2010).This study represents an exceptional opportunity to address these limitations. It makes use of data collected during one of the most rigorous recent studies done in child mental health in the UK (Goodyer et al., 2007). This enables detailed study of the therapeutic relationship during treatment and allows testing of the effects of this relationship on the success of treatment. Sessional audiotapes were available within both arms of this trial. Purposeful selection of tapes from both arms of the trial during treatment were transcribed and rated for treatment alliance. Other data already collected in the trial was included in an analysis to address questions of direction of causality of alliance in relation to symptom change during treatment and the way that alliance may explain treatment effect heterogeneity.The results indicate a complex effect of alliance upon outcome. There is a relationship between early alliance score and clinical improvement, but the relationship is not straightforward and the predictive effect of alliance appears to depend on differences in patient groups and therapist effects. Analysis of treatment effect heterogeneity suggests that therapeutic alliance is associated with the individual treatment effect and implies that with poor alliance, more treatment may be detrimental. The complexities of the results are discussed with reference to implications for further research in this area as well as clinical practice.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Brent C. Chamberlain / In the United States there are approximately 2.2 million people incarcerated in prisons and jails, making the U.S. incarcerated population the largest in the world (Kaeble and Glaze, 2016; Lindemuth, 2014). With the expansion of the prison population, women now comprise a larger portion than ever before (FBJS, 2010). There are approximately 100,000 women incarcerated in US federal and state prisons (FBJS, 2015). Many facilities do not contain adequate programs to help rehabilitate these women (Young, 2000). Prisons are often termed “correctional facilities”, but struggle to promote positive behavior and well-being (Pacholke, 2014; Haney, 2001; SuedFeld, 1980). When the prison environment is examined, it is often found that prisons are bleak, unwelcoming institutions (Lindemuth, 2014). This prompts the question: How can landscape architects design prison environments that improve psychological health and promote positive behavior? Evidence suggests that exposure to nature improves psychological health and promotes positive behavior (Moore, 1981; Ulrich, 1984, Ulrich, 1991, Hartig, 1991). Many studies report on the effects of therapeutic landscapes in healthcare settings, (e.g. Ulrich, 1999; Cooper Marcus & Barnes, 1995, 1999; Mitrione and Larson, 2007), however, limited literature exists on therapeutic landscapes within the prison context. The focus of this report is to explore how landscapes within women’s prison facilities can be designed to reduce stress and promote positive behavior.