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Immune recruiters are small molecule immunotherapeutics which redirect endogenous components of the immune system to target cells to elicit anti-cancer responses. Current immune recruiters made in the Rullo Lab are heterobispecific molecules which bind receptors on cancer cells and ligand-specific antibodies. Upon antibody binding, a proximity-induced covalent reaction with nearby nucleophilic residues installs a targeting ligand onto the protein. The resultant antibody conjugate then facilitates cancer killing through immune cell recruitment. Covalency circumvents limited binding affinity of the ligand•antibody complex, however antibody•immune receptor affinity remains an issue. This thesis presents an alternative immune recruiting strategy through direct engagement of effector immune cells; monocyte covalent immune recruiters (mCIRs). mCIRs utilize a monocyte specific peptide (cp33) to bind CD64, an activating receptor on monocytes. By incorporating a sulfonyl fluoride electrophile onto the N-terminus of cp33, selective covalent labelling of CD64 was achieved within 24 h. Furthermore, mCIRs demonstrated enhanced monocyte function relative to antibody recruiting platforms. However, these constructs have demonstrated that the order of addition to the target receptor then to CD64 is critical for bridging the two species. As a result, the effect of covalency on complex simplification and monocyte function has yet to be determined. Despite this, mCIRs represent a covalent immune recruitment strategy with the potential to address shortcomings of antibody-based therapeutics. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Thesis (MTech (Consumer Science: Food and Nutrition))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Objective: To determine whether nutritional information provision would influence the choice of a popular fast food by young adults employed in the City of Cape Town, South Africa (SA), within the professional and clerk occupational classifications as consumer group, using a beef burger as exploratory item. Methodology: A survey, in the form of a self-administered questionnaire comprising closedended multiple-choice questions, was used to obtain information on the respondent fast food consumption, fast food consumption on nutritional information provision using a beef burger as exploratory item, demographic, biographic and lifestyle characteristics, and eating practices. Through the purchasing of beef burgers across four major leading fast food franchises located within the Western Cape, and specifically those based in the City of Cape Town competitive in this fast food category, information pertaining to beef burger ingredients and the individual ingredient weights were obtained, to compile 16 representative beef burger-types to be presented in the questionnaire. Beef burgers were presented as two menu-options (i.e. the first containing energy provision alone, vs. the second containing extended nutritional information as energy, total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol provision) within the questionnaire, to obtain information on whether nutritional information provision would influence the respondents’ choice, and if so, which provision would do so. The questionnaire was assessed for content- and face-validity by an expert panel, and on the research receiving ethics approval, piloted and adapted before being distributed. Questionnaires were distributed according to the respondent preference for ease of use as either a hard printed copy or an electronic questionnaire. This was done via means of purposive and convenience sampling and by way of snowball sampling, to obtain young adults aged 20 to 34 years who were consumers of fast food and specifically beef burgers, within the selected occupational classifications working for small- to medium-sized companies in the City of Cape Town. Via the Pearson’s chi-squared and Fisher’s exact test and a logistic regression (Wald chisquare statistic) applied on the analysis, the factors to significantly influence the respondents to change their beef burger choice on the nutritional information provison were determined. Results: The final sample consisted of 157 respondents. A near-even split occurred between the respondents who would (52.2%) and wouldn’t (47.8%) be influenced by the nutritional information provision. Of the respondents who indicated that they would be influenced, the extended nutritional information provision had the highest influence. Twelve factors comprising a combination of the respondent biographic and lifestyle characteristics (n = 2), eating practices (n = 7), and fast food consumption (n = 3), were found to significantly (p < 0.05) influence the respondent choice of a beef burger on the nutritional information provision, and on application of the logistic regression, one factor strongly (p < 0.001) in each of the three domains. Of the respondents who indicated that they would not be influenced, more than half (54.4%) gave their reason as even though they were aware, or had an idea of the nutritional content of burgers, that they would still purchase their original choice even if the nutritional information was available, followed by one-quarter (25%) who indicated that they did not understand nutritional information. Conclusions: Extended nutritional information provision was found to positively influence a popular fast food choice among young adults employed within the City of Cape Town, SA, with health-consciousness being the overall factor identified to influence the choice of a healthier option on the nutritional information provision, as the identified significant factors were all related to health-conscious consumer attributes.

Denna studie undersöker hur märkning på livsmedelsförpackningar kan göras tydligare för personer med nötallergi. Tidigare studier visar att det finns brister i dagens märkningar och att detta i sin tur skapar problem. Därför har denna studie som avsikt att ta reda på hur allergeninformation för nötallergiker kan förbättras och göras tydligare. Detta tillämpas genom att studiens forskare tar fram ett designförslag som ska komplettera obligatorisk märkning på livsmedelsförpackningar. För att ta reda på hur detta designförslag ska utformas inleds designprocessen med en litteraturstudie och där en cross-case-analys genomförs. Genom denna analys hittas trender och mönster i tidigare studier. Därefter tillämpas en design space-analys där trenderna, olika designprinciper samt forskarnas egna kunskaper kombineras för att utforska olika designalternativ. Alternativ som i slutändan skapar en grund för en design. Studiens forskare skapar symboler, närmare bestämt piktogram. Eftersom jordnötsallergi och nötallergi är olika typer av allergier skapas två stycken piktogram. Piktogrammen, som är cirkelformade, får ett varnande budskap som förmedlas med hjälp av färgerna gul och svart. Piktogrammen utvärderas och testas genom att fem personliga intervjuer genomförs. Intervjuerna görs med personer som är allergiska mot jordnötter och/eller nötter. Forskarna testar piktogrammen genom att placera dem på en livsmedelsförpackning och ställer sedan frågor om bl.a. första intryck, färger och placering. Analysen visar att piktogram mycket väl kan användas som kompletterande märkning på livsmedelsförpackningar. Vidare konstateras det att valet av färg inverkar på den association som sändaren vill förmedla. Intervjuerna visar även att piktogrammen fördelaktigt kan placeras på förpackningens framsida. Studiens syfte har uppnåtts till viss mån, då intervjuerna visar att det ena piktogrammet behöver utvecklas för att tydligare kommunikation för nötallergiker ska kunna skapas.

Magister Scientiae (Medical Bioscience) - MSc(MBS) / Background: Veterinary medicines play an imperative role in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of animal diseases. Many veterinary stock remedies in South Africa are available to the public without the intervention or supervision of a veterinarian or healthcare worker. Therefore, the accompanying package insert with product information and directions for use is central in promoting the safe and effective use of stock remedies. Information such as the dosage, warnings, precautions and storage instructions are essential to assist the user in their treatment decision-making. While local regulatory authority guidelines prescribe and control the minimum information that should be available in the package insert or product label, it is questioned whether the information contained in package inserts of products on the market complies with these regulatory requirements. Methodology: Using simple random sampling of veterinary stock remedies, 159 package inserts or product labels from various animal health companies were selected and evaluated against the prescribed labelling guidelines of the local regulatory authority responsible for the registration and control of stock remedies. The contents of each package insert or label in the sample were assessed for the presence of the prescribed information statements and were accordingly classified as non-compliant, partially compliant or compliant. Results: Among the 159 package inserts, 48 were for antimicrobials, 49 for ectoparasiticides, 44 for anthelmintics and the remaining 18 for endectocides. It was observed that none of the package inserts met all of the criteria and that the package inserts were inadequate in many aspects. The average percentage of compliance was 69.43%, with a range of 36.21% to 87.93%. Conclusion: The study indicated that many package inserts do not fully comply with the prescribed regulatory guidelines and that information related to the safe and appropriate use of stock remedies is insufficient.

Problembeskrivning: Eftersom det finns så många olika miljömärkningar blir det svårt för konsumenter att skilja de mest pålitliga märkningarna åt. Utan tillräcklig kunskap kan konsumenter inte göra välgrundade miljöval när de handlar, vilket kan ha negativa konsekvenser för framtiden. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats var att undersöka graden av miljövetenhet bland konsumenter vid val av tvättmedel. Studien genomfördes bland Eskilstunas konsumenter. Dessutom var syftet med uppsatsen att undersöka den yngre generationens framtidsutsikter när det gäller deras kunskap om miljömärkningar och hur det påverkar deras val av tvättmedel. Metod: Studien har utgått från en kvalitativ undersökning i form av tidigare forskningar och fortsatte med en kvalitativ undersökning i form av intervjuenkätundersökning följd med jämförelse och deduktiv analys.  Slutsats. Resultaten av studien indikerar att de flesta av respondenter har bristfälliga kunskaper om miljömärkningar. Trots en medvetenhet om miljöfrågor, saknar de kunskap för att kunna fatta informerade beslut. Priset verkar inte ha en betydande roll i deras köpbeslut. Samtidigt visar det sig att kvinnorna inom äldre generation är mer engagerade i miljöfrågor. Slutligen är det min förståelse att Konsumentverket bör göra en konkret lösning, till exempel en tryckt guide med miljömärkningar för produkterna som är grundläggande för vår dagliga försörjning, som mat, tvättmedel och rengöringsmedel. Detta tycker jag kommer höja kunskapen om hållbar konsumtion bland alla generationer. / Problem description: Because there are so many different eco-labels, it becomes difficult for consumers to distinguish the most reliable labels. Without sufficient knowledge, consumers cannot make informed environmental choices when shopping, which can have negative consequences for the future. Purpose: The purpose of this essay was to investigate the environmental awareness among consumers when they are choosing detergents. The study was made among Eskilstuna's consumers. In addition, the purpose of the essay was to investigate the future prospects of the younger generation in terms of their knowledge of environmental labels and how it affects their choice of detergents. Method: The study was based on a qualitative investigation in the form of previous research and continued with a qualitative investigation in the form of an interview questionnaire followed by comparison and deductive analysis. Conclusion. The results of the study indicate that majority respondents have insufficient knowledge about environmental labels. Despite an awareness of environmental issues, they lack the knowledge to make informed decisions. Price does not seem to play a significant role in their purchase decisions. At the same time, it turns out that women in the older generation are more engaged in environmental issues. Finally, it is my understanding that the Swedish Consumer Agency should make a concrete solution, for example a printed guide with environmental labels for the products that are fundamental to our daily livelihood, such as food, detergents and cleaning agents. I think this will raise awareness of sustainable consumption among all generations.

Social or environmental labelling- Consumers’ knowledge, attitudes and preferencesEngelska nyckelord: labelling, social or environmental labelling, eco-labelling, sustainability, transparency, fashion consumer, visual/verbal communication, consumer buying behaviour, green consumerism.Sammanfattning på engelska: In the recent years the Swedish fashion retailers have increased their range of various social or environmental labels on their garments which in return has created confusion amongst the fashion consumers. Currently, there are approximately fourteen different third-party labelling standards in Sweden and a diverse range of self-controlled labelling standards. The reason for this increase can partly be explained by the increasing pressure from various actors to act more sustainably and ethically, and companies having realized a competitive advantage by adopting sustainable strategies. This study provides a preliminary exploration into the types of social and environmental labels that are available on the Swedish market and consumers’ knowledge, attitudes and preferences regarding these labels. Based on two focus group discussions held at two different occasions, respondents indicated that environmental labelling of clothing could influence their purchase decision positively if product related attributes (design and quality) have the same standard as non-sustainable clothing. Although consumers’ knowledge about the social or environmental labels is relatively low, they have an increased interest to learn more about the various labels and the potential environmental impact the fashion industry may cause. However, the growing involvement of taking social or environmental issues into consideration does not always lead to consumers actually purchasing eco-friendlier clothes, and thus these two “identities” are not yet compatible with each other.Additionally, consumers respond differently to positive and negative labelling, where negative labelling seems to have a stronger effect on their feelings and may influence their purchase decision. When it comes to the design of the label, visual and verbal communications are additives and a label should also have a numerical rating system, which states how sustainable a garment is in comparison to other garments. Furthermore, the logo should be more coherent with the fashion industry in terms of colours and illustrations. Moreover, consumers think that there is a lack of information at the point of purchase regarding the social and environmental labels and this should be addressed with either QR-code or by providing a simple brochure. / Program: Textilt management, fashion management

Pulse crops included in a crop rotation can reduce nitrogen (N) requirements via biological N2 fixation (BNF) and provide greater carbon (C) inputs to soil than non-pulse crops in rotation. The goal of this research was to estimate the BNF and C input to soil by various pulse crops (chickpea, lentil and field pea) grown in rotation with pulse crops and non-pulse crops. Soil cores from three crop rotations (chickpea-wheat, lentil-wheat and pea-wheat) were collected from Swift Current, SK. Additional soil cores from two rotations (canola-wheat and wheat-canola) were extracted from a field used for commercial cropping in Central Butte, SK. The 15N dilution method and continuous labelling with depleted 13CO2 were used to estimate BNF and 13C input to soil by pulse crops grown in a greenhouse. The continuous labelling with depleted 13CO2 was effective in depleting 13C in plants. The movement of 13C from plant to soil C pools via rhizodeposition was also observed. However, an accurate amount of 13C transferred was not measurable. Different pulse crop performed differently in rotation. Pea had the greatest amount of BNF and produced the most residue-C (pods, stems, leaves and roots) compared to chickpea and lentil. The crop grown in the first year of the three-year rotation also influenced the pulse crops grown in the third year of the rotation. Cropping the same first year and third year pulse crop in rotation (chickpea-wheat-chickpea and lentil-wheat-lentil) performed better than growing different first year and third year pulse crops in rotation (pea-wheat-chickpea and pea-wheat-lentil). Pulse crops grown immediately after wheat yielded better and fixed more N than those after canola. Growing a pulse crop after canola is not recommended in this soil zone.

In a market economy, the behaviour of firms determines the extent and type of anthropogenic impacts that affect natural ecosystems. As such it is critical that the regulation of corporate behaviour is closely appraised. All economic production systems use natural resource inputs and release waste emissions to environmental sinks; they also contribute to sustainability in terms of income generation. The analysis of economic efficiency is thus coined in terms of juxtaposing and balancing these effects and the role of regulation is to intervene so that the outcome (in terms of corporate behaviour) approximates to this theoretical social optimum. Determining optimal regulation is the core focus of this thesis. The role of environmental regulation has become prominent of late owing to developments in the science (and social science) of climate change and ecosystems functioning. It has also been strongly influenced by the Porter Hypothesis (PH) which challenges the non-interventionist doctrine of neo-classical economics in favour of stricter environmental regulation, based on the presumption that significant pollution offsets are available if and only firms are forced to search for eco-innovations. In order to progress the argument vis-à-vis optimal regulation it is first essential to explore the role of the firm in society, i.e. what the responsibilities of industry ought to be with respect to the sustainability agenda. I juxtapose and critically appraise functionalist theory and its associated utilitarian ethic with social permission theory; the outcome of this analysis is the contention that ‘I&We’ deontological theory is the most defensible alternative and as such a firm’s fiduciaries ought to balance the conflicting claims of stakeholders, i.e. shareholders are important but not paramount. Given this outcome, the role of the regulator is to intervene when the market for ‘green’ corporate behaviour does not function. There are various reasons outlined as to why such intervention might be required. On the demand side, evidence is presented of consumers’ willingness-to-pay for perceived environmental quality. This product attribute is typically a credence attribute and there is asymmetric information; there is an incentive for ‘greenwashing’, i.e. false or misleading environmental marketing claims. The strategic behavioural model developed herein implies that the status quo is potential sub-optimality in that consumers play a mixed strategy and, over time, there is the potential for a vicious cycle in that progressively less and less ‘green’ marketing claims are genuine. On the supply side, firms may be ‘satisficing’ as opposed to optimising with respect to eco-innovations; a firm’s search for and selection of innovation is path-dependent, i.e. the history of innovations is influential. This supports the PH in that stimulating a shift to an eco-innovation trajectory realises benefits not only in the current time period but into the future. I also demonstrate that firms may be ‘locked in’ to technological paths that are sub-optimal (and environmentally damaging) owing to ‘coordination effects’ and as such there is a further role for economically efficient regulatory intervention on the supply side. Well-designed regulation can improve economic welfare in that it might propagate a shift in (as opposed to movement along) abatement cost curves. This in turn implies a convergence between the ‘best’ level of pollution for the polluter and for society, therein ameliorating the potential deadweight losses from the strategic interaction between the polluter and the regulator.

Thesis (MTech (Consumer Science: Food and Nutrition))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2007 / Labels are the source of information about the contents of food products and must be correct so that consumers are not misled and can make informed product choices. However, food label information is often incorrect, misleading or just insufficient. The aim of this study was to determine the labelling errors and concerns that occurred in specific categories of the South African processed food market. Randomly selected food product labels (N=246) were evaluated that represented the selected categories of processed foods (N=7), namely: breakfast cereal (9%), savoury snacks (13%), sweet snacks (29%), non-refrigerated meals (7%), refrigerated meals (9%), soups and sauces (25%) and convenience desserts and baked goods (8%). A pre-tested labelling checklist was used to evaluate each food label according to the food labelling areas that could impact consumer health considering the current South African labelling regulations published in 1993, the draft of these regulations published in 2002, and the further new proposed draft regulations. Labelling errors found induded the use of prohibited statements and not identifying compound ingredients (19% and 12% of the products respectively). A labelling concern was also the lack of identification of the fatsloils used (61% of the products). Further concerns identified included the lack of additive-free and allergen-free claims. For example, significant differences (p<O.05) were found between the number of products claiming to be aclditive-free and those that could have made such ctaims but did not. A real concern was the listing of ingredients of unknown origin with allergenicity potential (80% of the products). The breakfast cereal category contained the most eneigy and nutrient claims and nutritional education information, with most errors identified in the categories refrigerated meals and soups and sauces, and most concerns in the category savoury snacks. There is scope for food labelling improvement, specifically in the areas of ingredient and allergen identification, additive-free claims and heaJth-related information provision.