1834 research outputs found
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Photoimmunotheranostic agents for triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis and therapy that can be activated on demand
No full textTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease in which the tumors do not express estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR) or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Classical receptor-targeted therapies such as tamoxifen or trastuzumab are therefore unsuitable and combinations of surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy are required. Photoimmunotheranostics is a minimally invasive approach in which antibodies deliver nontoxic photosensitizers that emit light to facilitate diagnosis and produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species to induce apoptosis and/or necrosis in cancer cells. We developed a panel of photoimmunotheranostic agents against three TNBC-associated cell surface antigens. Antibodies against epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 4 (CSPG4) were conjugated to the highly potent near-infrared imaging agent/photosensitizer IRDye®700DX phthalocyanine using SNAP-tag technology achieving clear imaging in both breast cancer cell lines and human biopsies and highly potent phototherapeutic activity with IC50values of 62–165 nM against five different cell lines expressing different levels of EGFR, EpCAM and CSPG4. A combination of all three reagents increased the therapeutic activity against TNBC cells by up to 40%.National Research Foundation (South Africa
NRF open access statement : implications for grantees’ research output submissions and dissemination
No full textPresentations SA PhD Project Conference: KwaZulu-Natal Province 17 August 2016
South African PhD project : creating diversity for the future
No full textPresentations SA PhD Project Conference: Gauteng Province 11 October 2016
Sustainability Assessment Initiative –development and implementation of a new biodiversity assessment tool for improved European Union access of South African timber and agricultural products
No full textGreen economy postdoctoral fellowships induction workshop 201
Characterisation and formulation of the tyrocidinesas green-biocideswith potential application in agriculture and industry
No full textScience engagement in South Africa: the South African Agency for Science and Technology Advancement (SAASTA)
No full text2nd SA NANO HIV/AIDS 2016, SAASTA, Didacta Building, 211 Nana Sita Street, Pretori
A critical analysis of the approach of the courts in the application of eviction remedies in the pre-constitutional and constitutional context
No full textIn the pre-constitutional era courts had a very specific approach to eviction remedies.
This approach was the result of legal doctrine that regulated the concept of ownership,
eviction remedies and standard practices of presiding officers as entrenched in rules
of interpretation and procedural rules.
The advent of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the “Constitution”)
transformed the eviction landscape by way of section 26(3) of the Constitution and the
subsequent promulgation of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful
Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 (“PIE”). After the first Constitutional Court judgment
Port Elizabeth Municipality v Various Occupiers (2005 (1) SA 217 (CC) it became
apparent that the PIE not only replaced the pre-constitutional eviction remedies but in
fact also required that the deep-level assumptions of a landowner’s right to evict and
the standard practices associated with the courts’ role in eviction cases were also
revolutionised. The pivotal consideration of this study, in light of these developments
of eviction law brought about by the constitutional dawn, is whether the courts are
indeed approaching and applying PIE in line with their mandate. This is critical as a
superficial shift will only frustrate the transformative thrust of the Constitution in the
context of eviction.
The study of the courts’ approach to eviction remedies in the pre-constitutional and
constitutional context has shown that section 26(3) and PIE have indeed transformed
the eviction landscape on a theoretical basis. In this regard, the courts’ approach to
eviction remedies has changed from conservative, formalistic and passive in the preconstitutional
era to context-sensitive, flexible and proactive. However, some courts,
especially the lower courts, are still failing to apply PIE as mandated. This is due to
the continued pre-constitutional deep-level assumptions of the strength of the
landowner’s right to evict, combined with procedural practices that form part of their
pre-constitutional legal culture. Interestingly, the specific focus on landowners in this
study indicated that this failure on the part of the court is surprisingly problematic for
landowners.National Research Foundatio
Fluid-structure interaction modelling of a patient-specific arteriovenous access fistula
No full textThis research forms part of an interdisciplinary project that aims to improve the detailed understanding of the haemodynamics and vascular mechanics in arteriovenous shunts that are required for haemodialysis treatments. A combination of new PCMRA imaging and computational modelling of in vivo blood flow aims to determine the haemodynamic conditions that may lead to the high failure rate of vascular access in these circumstances. This thesis focuses on developing a patient-specific fluid-structure interaction (FSI) model of a PC-MRA imaged arteriovenous fistula. The numerical FSI model is developed and simulated within the commercial multiphysics simulation package ANSYS® Academic Research, Release 16. The blood flow is modelled as a Newtonian fluid with the finite-volume method solver ANSYS® Fluent®. A pulsatile mass-flow boundary condition is applied at the artery inlet and a three-element Windkessel model at the artery and vein outlets. ANSYS® Mechanical™, a finite element method solver, is used to model the nonlinear behaviour of the vessel walls. The artery and vein walls are assumed to follow a third-order Yeoh model, and are differentiated by thickness and by material strength characteristics. The staggered FSI model is configured and executed in ANSYS® Workbench™, forming a semi-implicit coupling of the blood flow and vessel wall models. This work shows the effectiveness of combining a number of stabilisation techniques to simultaneously overcome the added-mass effect and optimise the efficiency of the overall model. The PC-MRA data, fluid model, and FSI model show almost identical flow features in the fistula; this applies in particular to a flow recirculation region in the vein that could potentially lead to fistula failure.National Research Foundatio