Templated synthesis of polymer nanocapsules: the role of template characteristics in dictating the efficiency of drug delivery systems

The fabrication and employment of nano-size vehicles for the effective delivery of drugs for therapeutic applications is an emerging and promising field in nanotechnology. Although a diverse range of drug delivery vehicles exist today, most lack the finer control over their size and monodispersity which is essential if they are to be introduced into the body. This thesis exploits template particles for the fabrication of polymeric nanocapsules with structurally unique characteristics. To achieve this, silica nanoparticles acting as templates were first investigated, where the effects of the experimental parameters on the size and monodispersity of the templates was explored and optimised using both single and multivariable experiments, so that the particles could be tailored to their required application. Following template fabrication, a comparison study of two template-facilitated approaches to nanocapsules synthesis were investigate and the combination of the solid core/mesoporous shell (SC/MS) approach along with the polymer material chitosan was found to be the most effective drug delivery system (DDS). Through modification of the same SC/MS approach, seven structurally unique chitosan nanocapsules were fabricated and the size of the vehicle was identified to be the most influential characteristic when comparing the cytotoxic efficiency. The body of this work identifies a promising nanocapsular drug delivery system for the future, which was demonstrated good control over the size and monodispersity of the nanocapsules, a high loading capacity for the water-liable drug curcumin, biocompatibility and high cytotoxic efficiency when the drug is incorporated

A global perspective on the application of riverine macroinvertebrates as biological indicators in Africa, South-Central America, Mexico and Southern Asia

The aim of this study is to generate a first global overview of pressures and methods used to assess the environmental quality of rivers and streams using macroinvertebrates. In total, 314 peer-review studies were reviewed, published in the period 1997 – 2018, from developing economies in Africa, South-Central America, Mexico and Southern Asia. To establish a global perspective, the results from the literature review were compared to other compiled datasets, biomonitoring manuals, environmental surveys and literature reviews from Europe, North America and Australasia. The literature review from the developing economies showed that sampling was most usual during baseflow, using kick- or Surber sampling, with taxonomical identification levels mostly to genus or family. Assessments were most often done using metrics (singular and multimetrics; > 70% of the applications) and were based on community attributes related to richness and dominance (58% of studies), sensitivity (40%), diversity by heterogeneity (32%) and functional traits (25%). Within each category, the most used metrics were the richness and dominance of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT), Biological Monitoring Working Party scoring systems (BMWP/ASPT), Shannon-Wiener diversity and feeding traits. Overall, 92% of the reviewed studies reported that the use of macroinvertebrates, at least in some of their responses, was successful in detecting degradation of environmental quality in the investigated rivers. Given the many similarities in applied methods worldwide, at present, we consider that a global assessment of riverine environmental quality can be feasible by using family level identifications of macroinvertebrate samples. We propose a global common metric (multimetric), comprising three of the most common river assessment metrics from the reviewed literature, but also elsewhere, namely the BMWP/ASPT, Shannon-Wiener diversity and richness of EPT. Recent concerns regarding the global state of nature and consequences for freshwater communities, as reported by the intergovernmental science-policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services (IPBES), emphasize the urgent need for such a synthesis

Diagonally Neighbour Transitive Codes and Frequency Permutation Arrays

Constant composition codes have been proposed as suitable coding schemes to solve the narrow band and impulse noise problems associated with powerline communication. In particular, a certain class of constant composition codes called frequency permutation arrays have been suggested as ideal, in some sense, for these purposes. In this paper we characterise a family of neighbour transitive codes in Hamming graphs in which frequency permutation arrays play a central rode. We also classify all the permutation codes generated by groups in this family

The application of predictive modelling for determining bio-environmental factors affecting the distribution of blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in the Gilgel Gibe watershed in Southwest Ethiopia

Blackflies are important macroinvertebrate groups from a public health as well as ecological point of view. Determining the biological and environmental factors favouring or inhibiting the existence of blackflies could facilitate biomonitoring of rivers as well as control of disease vectors. The combined use of different predictive modelling techniques is known to improve identification of presence/absence and abundance of taxa in a given habitat. This approach enables better identification of the suitable habitat conditions or environmental constraints of a given taxon. Simuliidae larvae are important biological indicators as they are abundant in tropical aquatic ecosystems. Some of the blackfly groups are also important disease vectors in poor tropical countries. Our investigations aim to establish a combination of models able to identify the environmental factors and macroinvertebrate organisms that are favourable or inhibiting blackfly larvae existence in aquatic ecosystems. The models developed using macroinvertebrate predictors showed better performance than those based on environmental predictors. The identified environmental and macroinvertebrate parameters can be used to determine the distribution of blackflies, which in turn can help control river blindness in endemic tropical places. Through a combination of modelling techniques, a reliable method has been developed that explains environmental and biological relationships with the target organism, and, thus, can serve as a decision support tool for ecological management strategies

Proton-counting radiography for proton therapy: a proof of principle using CMOS APS technology

Despite the early recognition of the potential of proton imaging to assist proton therapy (Cormack 1963 J. Appl. Phys. 34 2722), the modality is still removed from clinical practice, with various approaches in development. For proton-counting radiography applications such as computed tomography (CT), the water-equivalent-path-length that each proton has travelled through an imaged object must be inferred. Typically, scintillator-based technology has been used in various energy/range telescope designs. Here we propose a very different alternative of using radiation-hard CMOS active pixel sensor technology. The ability of such a sensor to resolve the passage of individual protons in a therapy beam has not been previously shown. Here, such capability is demonstrated using a 36 MeV cyclotron beam (University of Birmingham Cyclotron, Birmingham, UK) and a 200 MeV clinical radiotherapy beam (iThemba LABS, Cape Town, SA). The feasibility of tracking individual protons through multiple CMOS layers is also demonstrated using a two-layer stack of sensors. The chief advantages of this solution are the spatial discrimination of events intrinsic to pixelated sensors, combined with the potential provision of information on both the range and residual energy of a proton. The challenges in developing a practical system are discussed

Exploring the influence of meteorological conditions on the performance of a waste stabilization pond at high altitude with structural equation modeling

Algal photosynthesis plays a key role in the removal mechanisms of waste stabilization ponds (WSPs), which is indicated in the variations of three parameters, dissolved oxygen, pH, and chlorophyll a. These variations can be considerably affected by extreme climatic conditions at high altitude. To investigate these effects, three sampling campaigns were conducted in a high-altitude WSP in Cuenca (Ecuador). From the collected data, the first application of structure equation modeling (SEM) on a pond system was fitted to analyze the influence of high-altitude characteristics on pond performance, especially on the three indicators. Noticeably, air temperature appeared as the highest influencing factors as low temperature at high altitude can greatly decrease the growth rate of microorganisms. Strong wind and large diurnal variations of temperature, 7-20 degrees C, enhanced flow efficiency by improving mixing inside the ponds. Intense solar radiation brought both advantages and disadvantages as it boosted oxygen level during the day but promoted algal overgrowth causing oxygen depletion during the night. From these findings, the authors proposed insightful recommendations for future design, monitoring, and operation of high-altitude WSPs. Moreover, we also recommended SEM to pond engineers as an effective tool for better simulation of such complex systems like WSPs