Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

The Effects Of Thujone On The Function Of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors, Ahmed Salaheldin Mustafa Ali Sultan

Theses

Thujone is a natural compound found in plants such as “wormwood” and “sage” and it’s also found in the alcoholic drink “Absinthe”. Thujone has been suggested as a neurotoxic compound and reported to modulate GABAA receptors. In this study, we investigated the pharmacology of Thujone on nicotinic receptors expressed in Xenopus oocytes using the two electrode voltage clamp method. Thujone (100μM) caused an 80% inhibition of Acetylcholine (ACh) induced currents in human α7-nAChRs expressed in frog oocytes while only 30% inhibition currents in α4β2 expressed oocytes and no effect on α3β4, α3β2 and α4β4 nAChRs. The mechanisms of Thujone effect …

The Correlation Of Physical Activity And Mindfulness With Depression In International Schools In The Uae, Fiona Barron

Theses

This thesis was concerned with understanding potential preventative influencers in reducing depression. Focusing on mindfulness and Physical Activity (PA). Relatively few studies have explored the relationship between specific factors of PA and adolescent depressive symptoms and none have looked at the UAE population. Therefore the aim of this study was to determine whether a significant association exists between Mindfulness and PA on adolescent depressive symptoms, in order to understand if either variable can reduce the onset of depression, by exploring the relationships between frequency, duration, intensity and number of other individuals. A self-administered instrument was administered to international schools in …

Effects Of Onsite Stretching Exercise On Employee Musculoskeletal Discomfort And Wellbeing, Kellie L. Caldwell

Theses

To fight high incidence of musculoskeletal pain and discomfort complaints among the maintenance workers in a large transportation company, this pilot intervention study of an on-site stretch and flex exercise program was implemented. The participants (n=62) were maintenance workers; whose age ranged from 26 to 69 years.

A 4½-minute video was created which included still images of human figures performing stretches, while a voice recording instructed how to perform each stretch. Exercises targeted the neck, shoulders, triceps, hamstrings, and quadriceps. The exercise program was conducted 5 days a week for 5 consecutive weeks, during daily shift meetings.

The results of …

Effect Of Impeller Submergence On Power Dissipation And Solids Suspension In Mixing Systems Equipped With Pitch-Blade Turbines, Yufeng Song

Theses

Mixing and dispersion of solids in a liquid is a process frequently encountered in the pharmaceutical industry and often conducted in cylindrical baffled tanks stirred by mechanical impellers. In operations where the liquid level is decreased (as often which emptying the tank) the process must be stopped when the solids are no longer suspended. In this work, the minimum agitation to suspend solids (Njs) when the liquid level was lowered, and the impeller submergence S_b changed as a result were determined for the case of a six-blade, pitch-blade turbine (6-PBT) impeller. The power consumed by the impeller …

Experimental Determination Of Solids Suspension With Angled Impeller In A Pharmaceutical Mixing Vessel, Yingxi Tang

Theses

Angled-mounted impellers are commonly used in a number of pharmaceutical industry applications, from laboratory reactors to full-scale tanks. In these systems, the impeller is not centrally and vertically mounted, as in most stirred vessels, but it enters the vessel, and is therefore immersed in the fluid, at an angle from the vertical. This arrangement provides some baffling effects that would not otherwise exist if the impeller was centrally mounted.

One common requirement for such systems is that they are capable of suspending small solids dispersed in the liquid. Therefore, it is critical to know the value of the minimum agitation …

Experimental Determination Of The Agitation Requirements For Solids Suspension In Dissolution Systems Using A Mini Paddle Apparatus, Yang Song

Theses

Dissolution testing is a critical step in quality control of manufactured final products in the pharmaceutical industry. The United State Pharmacopeia (USP) Dissolution Testing Apparatus 2 (paddle) is the most widely used dissolution test devices in the pharmaceutical industry to formulate solid drug dosage forms and to develop quality control specifications for its manufacturing process.

Mini vessels and mini paddle dissolution testing systems are smaller versions of the USP 2 Apparatus. The concept of the mini paddle apparatus is similar to that of the USP 2 setup but it is scaled down about to 1/5 of the volume and 40% …

Distribution Of Ghrelin In Pancreatic Islet Cells Of Normal And Diabetic Rats And Its Effect On Diabetes Mellitus, Haba Y. M. El Abadlah

Theses

Ghrelin, a 28-amino acid peptide, is identified as the endogenous ligand of the orphan growth hormone secretagogue-receptor type 1a. Ghrelin presents a unique modification at Ser3 position essential for its activity. It was first discovered in the stomach of rat in 1999. Aside from ghrelin’s role as a potent growth hormone secretagogue and food intake modulator, ghrelin is thought to play a role in insulin and glucagon secretion and in glucose homeostasis. A lot of contradictory data have been reported in the literature regarding ghrelins co-localization with other hormones in the islets of Langerhans, its role in insulin secretion and …

Optimal Packaging Of Mason-Pfizer Monkey Virus (Mpmv) Genomic Rna Depends On Conserved Long Range Interactions Between U5 And Gag Complementary Sequences, Rawan M. Khaleel Kalloush

Theses

Employing a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches, we have recently shown that the 5’ end of MPMV genome (from the first nucleotide in R up to 120 nt of Gag) contains a number of sequence and structural motifs important for MPMV gRNA packaging and dimerization. A distinguishing feature of the higher order structure of MPMV packaging signal RNA is two long-range interactions (LRI) between U5 and Gag complementary sequences, LRI-I and LRI-II, which are phylogenetically conserved among different MPMV strains. These LRIs have been suggested to play a role in stabilizing the RNA secondary structure of the 5’ UTR …

Carveol And Related Monoterpenes Inhibit The Function Of The Human Α7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor, Yosra Adnan Lozon Adnan Lozon

Theses

Plants and phytochemicals have been used for centuries for therapeutic purposes. Essential oils from these plants are complex mixtures and may possess a large spectrum of biological activities many of them of clinical interest. Among the active constituents of essential oils, monoterpenes, demonstrated valuable antioxidant, antiviral, antimicrobial, anticancer, analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. In recent years, actions of monoterpenes on the function of ion channels have been investigated. In the present study, effects of different monoterpenes including carvacrol, carveol, d-carvone, eugenol, (+)-pulegone, thymol, thymoquinone, menthome and limonene, on the function of the cloned α7 subunit of human nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptor …

Delirium Epidemiology, Systems And Nursing Practice In Palliative Care Inpatient Settings: A Descriptive Mixed Methods Project (The Depac Project), Annmarie Hosie

Theses

Background: Delirium is a distressing and serious acute neurocognitive disorder frequently experienced by hospitalised patients yet under-recognised by nurses.

Aim: To identify the actions required to improve the capabilities of specialist inpatient palliative care nurses to recognise and assess delirium.

Design: A two-phase sequential transformative mixed methods project, involving five studies and underpinned by a knowledge translation conceptual framework – collectively termed the DePAC project.

Methods: A mixed methods design was used to examine delirium in palliative care inpatient settings from epidemiological, systems and nursing practice perspectives. Participants were nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, managers and patients of Australian palliative …

The Prevalence, Characteristics, Impact And Management Of Headache In People With Schizophrenia And Schizoaffective Disorder: A Cross Sectional Cohort Study, Joanne Connaughton

Theses

Headache is the most common pain problem reported by people with schizophrenia, with 12 month prevalence rates of around 50%. Despite this little research has been conducted into the characteristics, impact and management of headaches in this population. There is evidence to support the efficacy of physiotherapy treatment of cervicogenic headache and tension type headache and determining the prevalence, impact and current management of these types of headache was of particular interest.

A pilot study was first undertaken to identify and refine an appropriate headache questionnaire, develop an algorithm to use for classification of headache and test the repeatability and …

Optimising Motor Learning Of Infants At High Risk Of Cerebral Palsy Using Goal-Oriented And Environmental Interventions, Catherine Morgan

Theses

Background and aims: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability of childhood occurring in 1 in 500 live births in developed countries. Although CP starts in infancy because of a lesion in the developing brain, it is usually not diagnosed until about 19 months. The problem with late detection has meant that early neurorehabilitation is not accessed until motor impairment is evident. Consequently the dose of active intervention during the critical period for brain plasticity is often inadequate. Little evidence exists for the effectiveness of early intervention (EI) protocols for infants with CP. In particular, interventions that take …

Traumatic Facet Joint Dislocations In Western Australia, Vivek Eranki

Theses

Background: Early enlocation of dislocated cervical facets is important to minimize long term neurological deficit.

Aims: To assess impact of delay in enlocation on clinical outcome in patients with facet dislocations and propose a scheme for enlocation for rural patients who usually have longer enlocation times.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of consecutive cervical spine facet joint dislocations presenting to Royal Perth Hospital from January 2009 to November 2012 was carried out to assess factors affecting final neurological outcome (ASIA score) at discharge.

Results: A total of 51 patients were included in the study. More patients in the urban group had …

Evaluating Web-Based Pelvic Floor Muscle Education For Pregnant Women, Judith Wilson

Theses

Background: Guidelines recommend that when pregnant women attend antenatal education they gain adequate knowledge about pregnancy-related topics, including the function of pelvic floor muscles and how to undertake a pelvic floor muscle exercise programme. Evidence is limited about how this information can be optimally delivered to pregnant women such that they gain knowledge, confidence and motivation to engage in a pelvic floor muscle exercise programme during the antenatal period. The primary objectives of the research were to evaluate the effect of delivering a web-based pelvic floor muscle education intervention in addition to usual antenatal care on primiparae women’s awareness; knowledge; …