Submicron sized vesicles consisting of single and double chain non-ionic surfactant mixtures were prepared by simple dispersion of surfactant dissolved in aqueous medium, or alternatively, injecting the surfactant dissolved in organic solvent into the aqueous phase. Drug entrapment values were measured by using a fluorescent marker, 5,6- Carboxyfluorescein, and drug release characteristics were evaluated in biological media (serum and plasma) as a function of surfactant composition and in the presence or absence of cholesterol. Surface charge measurements, zeta-potential, as a function of pH, gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting (ELISA) were performed in order to measure the interaction of components of the biological fluid with the prepared vesicles. It was found that all vesicles carried a negative charge and rapidly bound plasma protein, which included albumin and immunoglobulin G, thus affecting the latency of the entrapped marker. Uptake and degradation of niosomes (non-ionic surfactant vesicles) in a living, unicellular, eukaryotic micro-organism was also investigated. It was found that the rate of release of contents depended on the composition of the vesicles and was a function of enzymatic degradation within these organisms rather than an intracellular PH effect of the digestive organelle. An identical protocol was carried out with the well- characterised liposome system and their inherent stabilities under a variety of conditions directly compared with niosomes.

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The ability of a novel fish oil emulsion antigen-delivery system administered orally and by immersion, to stimulate antibody responses in the dab, was measured in a further experiment. On this occasion, oral intubation of HGG (25 mg) in saline induced no detectable responses. Immersion in a bath containing HGG in lipid emulsion induced a transient ASC response in the blood only. Anal intubation of HGG (25 mg) in saline induced a slight ASC response in the gut and blood. Oral intubation of HGG (25 mg) in lipid emulsion induced ASC responses in the gut and transiently in the gill but no response (above background) in the head kidney. None of the above methods of immunisation induced serum antibody titres. Intraperitoneal injection of HGG (1 mg) in saline induced high numbers of ASC in the head, kidney, gut and gill as well as serum antibody. The ASC response in the head kidney was detected from week 5 to 10, peaking at week 5. The response in the gill was from week 3 to 10, peaking at week 6, and the response in the gut was from week 5 to 10, peaking at week 8. The results indicate that systemic stimulation induced ASC responses in both systemic and mucosal compartments. The orally protected HGG in lipid emulsion was more effective than oral HGG in saline and anal HGG in saline in inducing ASC responses in the gut and the gill without including serum antibody, suggesting that oral immunisation can induce a common mucosal response independently of the head kidney. Leucocytes were isolated from the perfused gill of rainbow trout (<I>Oncorhynchus mykiss</I>) and fractioned on a 40-70% Percoll gradient into two subpopulations, top and bottom cell fractions. On stimulation with calcium ionophore, the isolated gill cells, following nylon wool filtration, were shown to be capable of producing chemoattractants for head kidney leucocytes at a dilution of 1:8. Only the bottom cell fraction exhibited migration toward a 2% dilution of trout serum while dilutions of 0.25% and 0.5% rainbow trout serum were not chemoattractive for either head kidney or gill leucocyte populations. The highest migration index was achieved after 1.5 h and the optimal cell number for migration was 4.65x10⁷ cells/ml. Respiratory burst activity was undetectable with isolated gill cells. Mitogenic responses of isolated and fractionated gill cells to LPS and PHA suggested the presence of few B-cells and a preponderance of T-cells.

To ensure the effective and safe use of nanomaterials for medical applications, the biocompatibility of the materials must be tested with particular relevance to the environment in which the material is placed. In nanoparticle-based drug delivery, it is crucial to evaluate a nanoparticle???s biocompatibility to ensure minimal cytotoxicity. Of several types of nanoparticles, peptide-based nanoparticles have emerged as promising systems for targeted cancer therapy. Yet, the biocompatibility of many of these peptides and their assembled particles has not been studied. This thesis, summarizes the original contribution on the effective and safe use of the particular self/co-assembling, amino acid pairing peptides and some of their DEGylated forms (modified versions) as carriers for anticancer drug delivery application. Therefore, the biocompatibility of the self-assembling, amino acid pairing (AAP) peptides AC8, its two DEGylated forms, as well as two related peptides, EAK16-II and EK8, is systematically investigated. The toxicity of these peptides and their complexes with pirarubicin was tested against the human adenocarcinoma lung cancer cell line, A549.The biocompatibility of the peptide-drug co-assembling complexes is assessed and the potential of these five peptides as carriers for the hydrophobic anticancer drug pirarubicin is demonstrated. For the first time experimental results on cytotoxicity, haemolytic activity, red blood cell (RBC) aggregation, complement activation and anaphylotoxin activation as an end result of complement activity for these five AAP peptides is reported. AC8, the amino end DEGylated AC8 (NP-I) and EK might be strong candidates for hydrophobic drug delivery considering their lack of toxicity and the fact that they are not recognized as a foreign molecule, inducing no considerable immune reactions. These results provide a basis for in vivo experiments and predict minimal in vitro toxicity of these peptides based delivery systems.

Several current social agendas in the province of Manitoba are impacting the demographics in our classrooms. Recent changes to the Public Schools Act, the Educational Administration Act, an aggressive immigration initiative and a trend for movement from rural to urban settings have contributed to classrooms where the learning and behaving needs of students are diverse, their motivations to learn are different and they have varied areas of strength and weakness. In order to meet these new challenges and to provide educational programming that reflects the needs of our global society, schools need to change the way they are delivering service to students in schools. This study used qualitative research methods to examine the conditions that facilitate building an inclusive middle school in Manitoba. Data from both focus group interviews and a document study yielded multiple themes under the headings of actions, culture and strategies. A historical scan of the school’s reform process highlighting the changes in beliefs, leadership, structures and processes over time resulted from the data analysis. Collectively, the findings identify the specific steps the school took to move to inclusion. The information contained in this study will provide a path to help educators move to creating inclusive school environments where all students feel a sense of belonging and fulfillment from their educational experiences.

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A programme of work was undertaken to assess the efficacy of a new automated ad libitum feed delivery system for newly weaned pigs; to investigate the effects of liquid feeding on their performance and to explore the possibilities for reducing diet cost by using lower cost liquid components. A series of 28 day feeding trials was conducted using pigs weaned at 24 ± 4 days and fed ad libitum on liquid diets. Compared with pigs fed dry diets, liquid feeding increased feed intake by 109 ± 10 g dˉ¹ (P<0.001) and daily gain by 57± 14 g dˉ¹ (P<0.001). Pig growth and feed conversion ratio was not significantly influenced by dry matter content over the range of 255 - 149 g DM kgˉ¹. However, diets containing less than 220 g DM kgˉ¹ increased effluent output per kg of liveweight gain. Within the liquid feed system a natural lactic acid fermentation occurred which reduced diet pH ≤ 4.0 and inhibited the growth of coliform bacteria. Pigs fed diets in which pH was reduced to ≤ 4.0 by acidification with either lactic acid or Pediococcus acidilactici had daily gains of 496 and 474 ± 17 g dˉ¹ and feed conversion ratios of 1.11 and 1.15 ± 0.06 respectively. A series of laboratory studies was conducted with the aim of upgrading and controlling fermentation of food industry liquid residues for use in liquid diets for weaners. Steeping was investigated as a method for reducing glycoalkaloid levels in reject raw potatoes. A combination of natural fermentation and hydrolysis reduced the levels of α-solanine by 16.6 mg kgˉ¹ (35%) and α-chaconine by 28.7 mg kgˉ¹ (51%) respectively. Diets based on the food industry liquid residues (Whey, 'C'-Starch and Greenwich Gold), were either allowed to ferment naturally or inoculated with Enterococcus faecium or Pediococcus acidilactici. Inoculation with either Enterococcus faecium or Pediococcus acidilactici did not result in a significant difference in the final pH of the diets or in the final populations of microorganisms examined compared with the control. The series of studies demonstrated the potential for improving weaner pigs performance using fermented liquid diets. However, it highlighted the need for further studies to obtain a greater degree of control over fermentation patterns.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.