The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (PL 114-216) will require nearly all foods sold in the U.S. to bear a statement disclosing whether they contain genetically modified (GM) material. Past studies suggest the presence of such a statement could have profound effects on consumers; however, research comparing consumer response towards different GM-disclosure statements is scarce. PL 114-216 states that GM foods shall not be considered more or less safe than their non-bioengineered counterparts, nevertheless it would benefit regulators and food manufacturers to be aware of the possible effects such disclosures might have on consumers. In a nationwide survey, multiple disclosure statements with varying degrees of public familiarity were compared to evaluate consumer perceptions and attitudes associated with each statement. Average consumer knowledge level of GM processes was also measured. The statements were then paired with actual food items to determine whether specific product categories influenced consumer responses. A select few of these statements and foods were included in a taste panel, allowing researchers to analyze if disclosure statements affected a consumer's sensorial experience. Results suggested that consumers were most favorable towards statements indicating the absence of GM-material, however they also responded less negatively towards new disclosure statements that do not have negative connotations. Additionally, consumers may react differently depending on the food accompanying a particular disclosure, although the taste panel data found no evidence that statements affected actual eating experience. Importantly, data from both surveys and taste panel suggested a disclosure statement may affect consumer willingness to buy a product.

Although there are over 1,600 Engineered Nanomaterials (ENMs)-containing consumer products available, our understanding of ENM safety is still limited. Airborne ENMs can readily enter the human body through inhalation potentially leading to many adverse health effects such as cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. The conventional in vitro submerged cell culture method was developed decades ago and has been widely used as a fast screening method to elucidate cellular toxicity upon exposure to hazardous materials; however, it has many limitations compared with the in vivo models. Our group has previously utilized and validated an integrated low flow system capable of generating and depositing airborne nanoparticles (NPs) directly onto cells at an air-liquid interface (ALI) condition, and our results confirmed that this exposure system produced reproducible toxicological data for ENMs including gold (Au), 16% silver coated onto silica (16% Ag-SiO2), and copper oxide (CuO). To further improve this ALI method for an even closer representation of the in vivo model, a co-culture model containing three cell lines (A549, THP-1 differentiated macrophages, and EA.hy 926) was established and validated for testing ENMs toxicity. The co-culture model was exposed to 16% Ag-SiO2 and CuO NPs under the same protocol (4 h ALI exposure with a concentration of 3.5 mg/m3) as monoculture (A549 only) for comparison. Toxicity was assessed by measuring cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, and interleukin (IL) 8 level. Results showed that 16% Ag-SiO2 NPs induced higher ROS generation, and CuO NPs produced a significant level of proinflammatory response compared with monoculture. In addition, the co-culture model exhibited a similar response with the primary human bronchial epithelia cell line (HBEC) in terms of ROS and IL-8 responses after CuO NPs exposure, suggesting a more advanced refinement of the conventional model for in vitro inhalation study.

Cementitious materials with strain-hardening property and high tensile ductility are promising materials on account of their mechanical and durability performances. These materials require special ingredients which make it costly to be used in conventional constructions. Hence, potential applications of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) generally focus on layered systems or repairs which require the use of ECC together with another material. For it to be used especially as a repair material, it should have sufficient dimensional compatibility for preventing restrained shrinkage cracking. In this thesis, a strain-hardening fiberreinforced cementitious composite, named Engineered Cementitious Composites, was produced with local ingredients and their mechanical performance, dimensional stability properties were investigated. For investigating the effect of materials and mix proportions on mechanical properties, compressive strength, flexural strength with mid-span beam deflections and matrix fracture toughness tests were conducted. For determining the dimensional compatibility properties, autogenous, drying and restrained shrinkage tests were conducted along with tensile creep tests. As a result it was shown that, mechanical and dimensional stability properties are affected by the ingredients and mix proportions. It was shown that especially autogenous shrinkage of mixtures was relatively high which can cause early age cracking. In order to mitigate the adverse effect of autogenous shrinkage, the effect of pre-soaked expanded perlite aggregate replacement on mechanical, shrinkage and dimensional compatibility properties was investigated. As a result it was found out that autogenous shrinkage can be mitigated by the use of pre-soaked expanded perlite aggregate replacement.

In North America, the operation of buildings accounts for approximately one third of the total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions annually. Office buildings are responsible for roughly 35% of the total commercial/institutional secondary energy use in Canada, followed by retail buildings at 17% (NRCan, OEE, 2010). In recent years, a number of researchers from around the world have conducted life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies to investigate the impacts of buildings on the environment. Most studies have focused on three types of buildings: office buildings, single residential dwellings, and multi-unit residential apartments. There have been almost no comprehensive LCA studies of retail buildings, specifically single-storey retail buildings. This is a problem, since compared to office buildings, single residential dwellings, and multi-unit residential apartments, retail buildings consume approximately 1.2, 2.0, and 2.3 times more energy per floor area respectively (NRCan, OEE, 2010). In addition, retail buildings usually undergo major resource intensive renovations far sooner than other building types. Therefore, the primary goal of this study was to conduct a comprehensive LCA for the components of a single-storey retail building located in Toronto, Canada, to determine which building components contribute the most towards the total life-cycle energy use and global warming potential (GWP) after 50 years. Using the latest LCA techniques, the total life-cycle energy use and GWP was calculated for 220 different building components including: exterior infill walls, roofs, structural systems, floors, windows, doors, foundations, and interior partition walls. Also, a comprehensive LCA study was conducted for five single-storey retail buildings (including a pre-engineered steel building system which is lacking in the literature), in order to determine which components of a single-storey retail building are responsible for the most environmental damage. For a typical single-storey retail building located in Toronto, Canada, the operating energy (and GWP) accounts for about 91% (88%) and the total embodied energy (and GWP) accounts for about 9% (12%) of the total energy (and GWP) after 50 years. The roof alone is responsible for nearly half of the total embodied energy and GWP of the entire building. The LCA study also found that after 50 years, the total energy (and GWP) of the five case study buildings only differed at most by 6% (7%), regardless of the choice of structural system, or whether the building was made predominately of steel or wood building components. This thesis concludes with a prioritized list of recommendations for reducing the total life-cycle energy use and GWP of a single-storey retail building in Canada.

The process of fluid injection into granular media is relevant to a wide number of applications such as enhanced oil recovery, grouting, and the construction of permeable reactive barriers. The response of the subsurface is dependent on multiple factors such as in-situ stresses, fluid properties, flow rate, and formation type. Based on these conditions a variety of response mechanisms can be initiated ranging from simple porous infiltration to hydraulic fracturing. Currently, the mechanics of fluid injection into competent rock are well understood and can be sufficiently modeled using linear elastic fracture mechanics. Because the grains in rock formations are individually cemented together, they exhibit cohesion and are able to support tensile stresses. The linear elastic method assumes tensile failure due to stress concentrations at the fracture tip. A fracture propagates when the stress intensity factor exceeds the material toughness (Detournay, 1988) However, understanding fluid injection in cohesionless granular media presents a much larger obstacle. Currently, no theoretical models have been developed to deal with granular media displacements due to fluid injection. Difficulty arises from the complexity of fluid rheology and composition used in engineering processes, the strong coupling between fluid flow and mechanical deformation, the non-linear response of subsurface media, and the multi-scale nature of the problem. The structure of this thesis is intended to first give the reader a basic background of some of the fundamental concepts for non-Newtonian fluid flow in granular media. Fluid properties as well as some interaction mechanisms are described in relation to the injection process. Next, the results from an experimental series of injection tests are presented with a discussion of the failure/flow processes taking place. We developed a novel technique which allows us to visualize the injection process by use of a transparent Hele-Shaw cell. Specifically, we will be using polyacrylamide solutions at a variety of concentrations to study non-Newtonian effects on the response within the Hele-Shaw cell. By performing tests at a range of solution concentrations and injection rates we are to be able to identify a transition from an infiltration dominated flow regime to a fracturing dominated regime.

Due to the rapid expansion of nanotechnology and the increasing applications of nanomaterials under production and development, it is essential evaluate the potential impacts on human health, ecosystems and the environment. This study is specifically focused on the interactions between metal-based nanoparticles (NPs) and target cells, aiming at exploration of the fundamental knowledge essentially useful for understanding nanotoxicity and its connections with particle properties. The whole structure of this study can be divided into three levels: the first level is to quantitatively understand physicochemical properties of NPs of interest and their dynamic changes under varying environmental conditions. The second level is to evaluate the biological interactions of representative NPs with a specific focus on the size-dependent adsorption processes, interfacial forces, cellular disruption, and membrane damages. The third level is to develop effective, accurate, and valid tools based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) to characterize NPs in terms of the nanoscale hydrophobicity and the nanoscale electric properties, which are most relevant and important properties in the bio-nano interactions. Overall, this study systematically investigated the kinetic environmental behaviors, biological interactions, and unique nano-properties of metal-based NPs, which should be of interest to people in application and implication of nanotechnology.

Procurement’s role in engineering and construction is changing. Procurement is evolving into a far more strategic discipline. Major equipment procurement in particular ties up a large proportion of construction cost, has long lead time, and is usually associated with the acquisition of complex or specialized technology. Selection of suppliers is a complex process which requires the evaluation of several suppliers and project targets. This analysis is usually performed manually, it is time consuming, and certain tradeoffs may be overlooked. This research advances state of the art to aid the commercial evaluation and selection of engineered equipment suppliers in the early stages of capital projects. A decision support system was developed in cooperation with several leading engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) and owner firms within industrial construction. The system integrates firms’ market and supplier performance data with a decision aid method to support rapid tradeoff analysis and evaluation of sourcing alternatives in the early stages of capital projects. The tool has been developed in Visual C#, in the form of simple and intuitive forms, with Microsoft Access as the back-end database. A supplier selection module uses the Aspiration Interactive Method (AIM) for providing rapid tradeoff analysis and points how each supplier is ranked in relation to the expected procurement targets. The system also includes a module for schedule analysis of the preferred supplier. Managers first need to assess unique project and supplier’s characteristics to estimate most likely durations. These durations are used to run a PERT analysis and provide initial feedback on probability of equipment delivery success. Therefore, managers are able to check whether their procurement master schedule milestones are feasible or not. Two actual selection cases were used to validate system’s usefulness, completeness, and deployability. According to experienced managers, this tool brings intelligence to the traditional selection process. The ability to quickly generate what-if scenarios and rapidly perform tradeoff analysis based on real data improves the quality of decision making, and supports commercial assessment and recommendation of suppliers in the early phases of capital projects. / text

In North America, the operation of buildings accounts for approximately one third of the total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions annually. Office buildings are responsible for roughly 35% of the total commercial/institutional secondary energy use in Canada, followed by retail buildings at 17% (NRCan, OEE, 2010). In recent years, a number of researchers from around the world have conducted life-cycle assessment (LCA) studies to investigate the impacts of buildings on the environment. Most studies have focused on three types of buildings: office buildings, single residential dwellings, and multi-unit residential apartments. There have been almost no comprehensive LCA studies of retail buildings, specifically single-storey retail buildings. This is a problem, since compared to office buildings, single residential dwellings, and multi-unit residential apartments, retail buildings consume approximately 1.2, 2.0, and 2.3 times more energy per floor area respectively (NRCan, OEE, 2010). In addition, retail buildings usually undergo major resource intensive renovations far sooner than other building types. Therefore, the primary goal of this study was to conduct a comprehensive LCA for the components of a single-storey retail building located in Toronto, Canada, to determine which building components contribute the most towards the total life-cycle energy use and global warming potential (GWP) after 50 years. Using the latest LCA techniques, the total life-cycle energy use and GWP was calculated for 220 different building components including: exterior infill walls, roofs, structural systems, floors, windows, doors, foundations, and interior partition walls. Also, a comprehensive LCA study was conducted for five single-storey retail buildings (including a pre-engineered steel building system which is lacking in the literature), in order to determine which components of a single-storey retail building are responsible for the most environmental damage. For a typical single-storey retail building located in Toronto, Canada, the operating energy (and GWP) accounts for about 91% (88%) and the total embodied energy (and GWP) accounts for about 9% (12%) of the total energy (and GWP) after 50 years. The roof alone is responsible for nearly half of the total embodied energy and GWP of the entire building. The LCA study also found that after 50 years, the total energy (and GWP) of the five case study buildings only differed at most by 6% (7%), regardless of the choice of structural system, or whether the building was made predominately of steel or wood building components. This thesis concludes with a prioritized list of recommendations for reducing the total life-cycle energy use and GWP of a single-storey retail building in Canada.

Complex engineered nanoparticles (CENPs) are being used on various applications. Their properties are different from those of neat nanoparticles. The dissertation explores these differences from four aspects: 1) Modify carbon nanomaterials’ inert surfaces and investigate the effect on thermal and rheological behavior of their dispersions; 2) Generate self-assembly bi-layer structure of oxide nanoparticles via surface modification; 3) Study interaction between lysozyme and different surface-charged ceria nanoparticles; 4) Investigate the biodistribution and transformations of CENPs in biological media. An environment-friendly surface modification was developed to modify surfaces of carbon nanomaterials for increasing their affinity to non-polar fluid. It can offset formation of agglomerates in dispersions. Less agglomerates change thermal conductivity and rheological behavior. One combined model, considering shape factor, was built to fit non-linear enhancement on thermal conductivity with volume fraction of nanoparticles. Constructing bi-layer structure of oxide nanoparticles with different refractive index was crucial for optical thin films. Silanization was used to transform relatively hydrophilic surface of oxide nanoparticles to hydrophobic surface via attaching alkane chains. The self-assembly separation of these nanoparticles can form bi-layer structure in single deposition process since neat nanoparticles keep in hydrophilic monomer while surface-modified nanoparticles settled down. The adsorption behaviors of lysozyme, one protein with net positive charge, on different surface-charged ceria nanoparticles were investigated. The adsorption isotherm curves were fitted with the Toth and Sips equations satisfactorily. The heterogeneity parameters suggest the surface charge predominate adsorption on negatively charged ceria while lateral effect predominate adsorption on positively charged ceria. The local site energy distributions were also estimated. The 26Al-labeled nanoalumina coated by 14C-labeled citrate was synthesized and its dispersion was infused intravenously into rat. The Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) was used to measure isotopes in dosing material and tissues. The ratio of coating and core in liver was slightly less than dosing material while the ratios in brain and bone are much higher than dosing material. It may suggest that some citrate coating dissociated from nanoalumina’s surface, entered metabolic cycles, and then redistributed to other organs.

In this PhD thesis the potential of T-cells as therapy for disease are explored. The applications of genetically modified T-cells for treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease; the functionality and optimal activation of T-cells are discussed. Successful treatment of cancer with T-cell receptor (TCR)-modified T-cells was first reported in 2006, and is based on recognition of a specific peptide by the TCR in the context of the MHC molecule. As antigen presentation in tumors is often defective and to avoid MHC-restriction, chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) molecules containing an antibody part for recognition of cell surface antigens and TCR and co-receptor signaling domains have been developed. Activated T-cells mount an efficient immune response resulting in the killing of the cancer cell and initiating T-cell proliferation. The rationale for using genetically modified T-cells instead of isolating tumor infiltrating lymphocytes from the tumor and expanding them (TIL therapy) is that it is often very difficult to obtain viable lymphocytes that are able to expand enough in order to use them for therapy. This thesis explores the possibility of using prostate-specific antigens to target T-cells towards prostate cancer. The prostate has many unique tissue antigens but most patients with metastatic prostate cancer have undergone prostatectomy and consequently have “prostate antigen” expression only in cancer cells. We targeted the prostate antigens TARP and PSCA with a HLA-A2 restricted TCR and a CAR respectively. In both cases the tumor-specific T-cells were able to generate potent proliferative and cytotoxic responses in vitro. The PSCA CAR-modified T-cells delayed subcutaneous tumor growth in vivo. It is evident from our in vivo experiments that the PSCA CAR T-cells were unable to completely cure the mice. Therefore, we aimed to improve the quality of the transferred T-cells and their resistance to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Stimulation with allogeneic lymphocyte-licensed DCs improved the resistance to oxidative stress and antitumor activity of the T-cells. We further investigated the potential of genetically modified regulatory T-cells (Tregs) to suppress effector cells in an antigen-specific manner. Using a strong TCR we hypothesize that the phenotype of the TCR-transduced Tregs may be affected by antigen activation of those cells. We found that the engineered Tregs produced cytokines consistent with Th1, Th2 and Treg phenotypes.