The primary aim of this work is to explore the potential applications of isoporous block copolymer membranes. Block copolymers (BCPs) have demonstrated their versatility in the formation of isoporous membranes. However, application spectrum of these isoporous membranes can be further broadened by exploring the technical aspects, such as desired surface chemistry, well-defined pore size, appropriate pore density, stimuli responsive behavior, and by imparting desired functionalities through chemical modifications. We believe, by exploring these possibilities, isoporous membranes hold tremendous potential as high performance next generation separation membranes. Motivated by these attractive prospects we systematically investigated novel routes for modification of isoporous membranes and their implications on properties and performance of the membranes for various applications. In this work, polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) has been selected to fabricate isoporous membranes using non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS). We selected PS-b-P4VP since its well-defined isoporous morphology is studied in detail and it is extensively characterized. In order to further widen the application bandwidth of BCP membranes, it is desirable to integrate different functionalities in the BCP architecture through a straightforward approach like post-membrane-modification or fabrication of composite membranes to impart anticipated functionalities. The most critical challenge in this approach is to retain the well-defined nanoporous morphology of BCP membranes. We focused on exploring new routes for chemical functionalization of isoporous PS-b-P4VP membranes via various in-situ and post-membrane fabrication approaches. To date, most of the work reported in the literature on PS-b-P4VP presented different routes to fabricate isoporous membranes and their conventional performance in liquid separations. Few efforts have been dedicated to alter the chemistry of PS-b-P4VP membranes by tuning the reactivity of the chemically active P4VP block or the surface chemistry to enhance the membrane performance for desired applications. During the Ph.D. study, we primarily focused on: (i) post modification approach, (ii) surface modification and (iii) in-situ membrane modification approach for fabrication of the mixed-matrix nanoporous membranes without altering the isoporous morphology of the membrane. The membranes fabricated using the mentioned above routes were tested for different applications like stimuli-responsive separations, self-cleaning membranes, protein separations and high-performance humidity sensors.

Climate change poses a threat to agriculture. Ghana’s agriculture is mainly dependent on rainfall, this makes subsistence farmers majority of whom are women more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. That said, the impacts of climate change are felt differently by men and women due to their social assigned roles and responsibilities. This study examined the dimensions along which gender matters in adaptation strategies.The study used a case study approach, the Ejisu municipality in Ghana was selected for the study. To understand the gender narratives and how this affects adaptation strategies 10 farmers, and 2 agriculture extension officers were sampled. An inductive approach was used to analyze the core themes that emerged from the data.The findings of the study show that smallholder farmers in Ejisu municipality are changing their agricultural practices due to the changes in climatic conditions. Female farmers were seen to be less adaptive due to gender norms and challenges with access to productive resources. The common adaptative measures used by both male and female farmers are crop rotation, mixed farming, use of agrochemicals, organic fertilizers, leaving land fallow, delayed planting, and conservative agriculture.The study findings further show there are complexities in gender dimensions in the agricultural process and this affects adaptation strategies. The study recommends raising public awareness on climate change by providing adequate support to train farmers on sustainable adaptation, strengthening institutional capacity to ensure gender-responsive initiatives in agriculture, and create equitable access to resources to enhance adaptive capacities.

Before Responsive Web Design (RWD) it was common to create fixed-width websites. In recent years the standard way of creating responsive websites is by some of the fundamental aspects of RWD on the client-side. But can it be worth using RWD with components sent from a server by detecting the device and send component-specific material as to lessen some of the resources of the page? Tests have been made for this purpose with Google Lighthouse’s performance audits in mobile and desktop mode between four almost identical websites. These tests measures which website will receive better load-time performance results viewed from an emulated smartphone with a 3G/4G connection (mobile) and an emulated desktop PC with a 10 Mbps of connection (desktop). Each website consists of two pages, one with lesser resources (< 1 MB, known as index.html), the other with larger resources (24.3 MB, known as gallery.html). All four websites are responsive and built after the main pillars of RWD. Two websites does not have any optimization while two websites have added image optimization. One of the two websites in each category, image-optimized and unoptimized, is a server-based component website. This means, it will use asynchronous calls to a server to get specific components for the specific viewport.  In the tests performed, between the unoptimized websites, one client-based (CRWDu), the other server-based (SRWDu), on index.html, the CRWDu website scored best in mobile and got a slightly better result in desktop mode. On gallery.html, the SRWDu website received the best results in both modes, mobile and desktop. Between the image-optimized websites, one client-based (CRWDo), the other server-based (SRWDo), the CRWDo website on index.html, had a slightly better result in mobile and a worse result in desktop mode. On gallery.html, the SRWDo website had a much better result in both mobile and desktop mode.

abstract: This study utilized a Culturally Responsive Teaching training and bi-weekly collaboration sessions to improve the connectedness between teachers and their Latino male students. Three first-year teachers and 21 students participated in this study to learn how teaching practice and student classroom experiences changed as a result of the innovations. The findings showed teachers modified their planning and teaching and demonstrated more frequent culturally responsive teaching behaviors at the end of the implementation period. Participating students also showed increased classroom engagement and stronger relationships with their teachers, in addition to feeling more valued and included in the classroom. This study highlights effective structures and practices in areas such as cultural responsiveness implementation, teacher collaboration processes, teaching evaluations, and professional development models. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Curriculum and Instruction 2019

The purpose of this study was to explore foundation phase teachers' perceptions of the way in which supportive school environments are being created for children from same-sex parented families. It focused specifically on how foundation phase teachers perceive their role in accommodating, including, and positively representing the same-sex parented family in their classroom practice. Current literature highlights the negative experiences of homophobia and heteronormativity in schools, together with the need to create more supportive school environments for children from samesex parented families. The increasing prevalence of same-sex parented families in South Africa has created the need for extended research in this regard, and yet there is a gap in national literature on the school experiences of children from this nontraditional minority family form. Foundation phase teachers play a central role in teaching their young learners to accept and celebrate diversity. However, no research has been done in South Africa to explore foundation phase teachers' perspectives on their role in interrupting heteronormativity in their schools and classrooms. This study was approached from an interpretive paradigm and qualitative methods were employed to collect and analyse the data. Individual interviews were conducted with four foundation phase teachers, and interpretive thematic data analysis techniques were used to analyse the data. Culturally responsive pedagogy was used as a framework to explore barriers to inclusion, and to recommend ways in which foundation phase teachers in South African schools can be supported in creating safe, positive and counter-heteronormative school environments for children from same-sex parented families. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Educational Psychology / MEd / Unrestricted

Autophagy is a critical cellular maintenance machinery in cells, and prevents the accumulation of toxic protein aggregates, organelles or lipid droplets through degradation via the lysosome. In macro-autophagy, autophagosome first engulfs around aggregates or cellular debris and subsequently fuses with a lysosome that is sufficiently acidic (pH 4.5–5.5), where the contents are then degraded via lysosomal enzymes. Autophagy inhibition as a result of lysosomal acidification dysfunction (pH > 5.5) have been reported to play a major role in various diseases pathogenesis. Hence, there is a pressing need to target lysosomal pH to rescue autophagy. Nanoparticles are attractive materials which has been shown to be efficiently uptaken into cellular organelles and can serve as an agent to specifically localize into lysosomes and modulate its pH. Lipotoxicity, induced by chronic exposure to free fatty acids, and exposure to neurotoxins (e.g. MPP+), elevates lysosomal pH in pancreatic beta cells (Type II Diabetes, T2D) and hepatocytes (Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, NAFLD), and PC-12 cells (Parkinson’s Disease), respectively. We first tested the lysosome acidification capability of photo-activable nanoparticles (paNPs) and poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid nanoparticles (PLGA NPs) in a T2D model. Both NPs lowered lysosomal pH in pancreatic beta cells under lipotoxicity and improved insulin secretion function. However, paNPs only release acids upon UV trigger, limiting its applicability in vivo, while PLGA NPs degrade upon lysosome localization. We further showed that PLGA NPs are able to rescue MPP+ induced cell death in a PD model, though it has a slow degradation rate. To attain the most efficacious nanoparticle with a fast degradation and acidification rate, we synthesized acidic nanoparticles (acNPs) based on tetrafluorosuccinic and succinic acids to form optimized nanoparticles. The acNPs showed faster rescue of cellular function compared to PLGA NPs in the PD model. Finally, we tested the acNPs in NAFLD model, and where lysosomal pH reduction by acNPs restored autophagy, reduced lipid accumulation, and improved mitochondria function in high-fat diet mice. In sum, nanoparticles are of potential therapeutic interest for pathologies associated with lysosomal acidity impairment. Future studies include testing the acNPs in NASH disease model and clinical studies. / 2022-05-18T00:00:00Z

This thesis focuses on electron irradiated gelatin hydrogel composites for the development of a magnetically-controllable material. Smart materials comprised of magnetic nanoparticles embedded in hydrogels are known as ferrogels. Deformation, swelling and viscoelasticity of ferrogels can be controlled by external magnetic fields, with potential applications in drug delivery, tissue engineering, actuation and sensing. High energy electron irradiation was used to create stable gelatin hydrogels. Geometry, swelling, solubility and viscoelasticity were experimentally quantified for the irradiated gelatin. The degree of crosslinking and mesh size were calculated by theories of rubber elasticity and Flory-Rehner. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to confirm minimal chemical changes occurred as a result of crosslinking. The micro- and nanostructure of the hydrogels were investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering to supplement macroscopic investigations, allowing for comparison of experimental data with additional semiflexible polymer models. The cytotoxicity of the irradiated hydrogels and liquid byproduct were analyzed using NIH 3T3 mouse embryonic fibroblasts and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. The influence of the degree of crosslinking on cellular morphologies was also explored. Additionally, surface wettability and hydrogel degradation times were quantified with respect to the irradiation dose. Preliminary experiments examined the potential of irradiated gelatin hydrogels as components of vascular scaffolds. Potential surface modification strategies to enhance and direct cellular interactions were briefly explored, such as surface coating and patterning. After integration of magnetic nanoparticles into the gelatin, the magnetic response of the ferrogels was investigated using magnetic particle spectroscopy and magnetorelaxometry. These techniques were highly sensitive to the changing matrix viscoelasticity around the sol-gel transition. Irradiated ferrogels exhibited thermal stability across the sol-gel transition, although some local softening was observed. This research highlights the potential of electron irradiated gelatin hydrogels and ferrogels, while providing fundamental insights into the physical processes influencing the network structure, mechanics and resulting cellular interactions.

University writing programs increasingly serve student populations of growing diversity: more international students, first-generation students, disabled students, racial and ethnic minority students, and LGBTQ+ students, for example. Instructors thus teach in classrooms with many cultures and subcultures represented. Amid increasing demographic diversity, many writing programs seek to internationalize. In this dissertation, I investigate the current state of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) in a university writing program as a potential avenue for internationalization. Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) is a social-justice-oriented, transformative approach to education that views cultural diversity as a resource, restructuring education settings to affirm students’ identities and home cultures. I evaluate CRT among a sample of 10 instructor participants and their students, propose a CRT assessment method, and suggest implementation of CRT as a sustainable, just, and resource-efficient method for writing program internationalization. I implement a mixed-methods research design that draws on both observational and self-report measures of CRT. Results indicate that instructor capabilities for CRT fall along a developmental spectrum. This developmental spectrum provides a useful model for assessment of CRT in a writing program context, as well as a basis for developing the CRT capabilities of instructors at both individual and programmatic levels. <br>

The effects of demographic change and the lack of acceptance represent some of the main problems for the public transport infrastructure in rural areas. As a consequence, the development of new transport service options becomes especially relevant for rural communities. The Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization developed a new form of Demand Responsive Transport the EcoBus to examine the viability of new DRT systems in rural Germany. Our work draws on customer satisfaction data during the trial runs of the EcoBus. Based on the survey data, this paper develops regression models to explain the determinants of DRT customer satisfaction. Our main findings include the importance of waiting times and the ease of entry for overall customer satisfaction. Nevertheless, we found no evidence that the presence of other guests in the vehicle had any negative impact on customer satisfaction. Findings of other works that women are significantly more likely to use DRT services could not be validated from our data.

Background: Responsive Supply Chain (RSC) has been in the middle of attention nowadays, companies invest massively in their supply chains to adapt to dynamic changes in the market. Examples of prominent changes are technological advances and digitalization happening across various supply chain channels. Almost all businesses and managers are now challenged to build a RSC that better copes with these changes. Therefore, it is essential to explore the external requirements in the market that push business towards adopting a RSC strategy. Along with external requirements, internal enablers are also defining how efficiently supply chain are capable of implementing such a strategy.   Purpose:                     The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the external requirements of a responsive supply chain strategy. Furthermore, it will investigate the internal enablers necessarily to efficiently respond to those external requirements, and finally explore the challenges managers encounter while implementing a RSC model.   Method:   A qualitative method has been performed through a single case study analysis. Semi-structured interviews with different managerial levels are conducted to collect data from Nike, as a main research case. A content analysis method has been used to develop an adaptive model in order to fulfil our research purpose.   Conclusion: Our analysis showed that consumer behavior and social media played a significant role as external requirements. Change management is a key internal enabler for Nike to adapt their current set-up to further develop their responsive strategy. Information technology, resistance to change and trends in the market are amongst the key challenges while building a RSC model.