Seventy-Five Years (1940-2015) of Lehigh University\u27s Chemistry Department

The 75-years 1940 to 2015 have been exciting ones for the Department of Chemistry; new buildings, new programs, energetic young faculty, enhanced research image, and a far broader coverage of Chemistry than our ancestors ever presumed. Five chairs guided the department through its first 75-years but it took 11 chairs (with two of them serving twice) to manage the second 75-years. As one of the Lehigh founding departments in 1865 our first 75-years have already been covered. The reader is directed to a history written by Robert D. Billinger, A History of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (1866-1941) which is available in original in the Lehigh Archives and as an on-line document. This sesquicentennial volume is also available in hardcopy with original illustrations in the archives or on-line

Caracterización morfológica y bioquímica del enzima fucosidasa y de diversas glicoproteínas en espermatozoides y epidídimo de rata / Irene Abascal Ruiz ; directores José Ballesta Germán, Jack A. Alhadeff.

Tesis-Universidad de Murcia.MEDICINA ESPINARDO. DEPOSITO. MU-Tesis 545.Consulte la tesis en: BCA. GENERAL. ARCHIVO UNIVERSITARIO. T.M.-1652

Immobilized pH Gradient Focusing of Alkaline Proteins: Analysis of the Isoform Composition of Purified Human Non-Secretory Ribonucleases From Kidney, Liver and Spleen.

Previous studies on the isoform composition of human ribonucleases (RNAases) have resulted in confusing and inconsistent results, presumably due to methodological problems in electrofocusing of alkaline proteins. In the present study, immobilized pH gradient (IPG) carrier ampholyte (CA) isoelectric focusing (IEF) and conventional CA-IEF have been evaluated for the analysis of the isoforms of human non-secretory RNAases purified from kidney, liver and spleen. CA-IEF proved unsuitable since the alkaline RNAase isoforms migrated into the cathode. IPG-CA-IEF, however, resolved the RNAase isoforms and marker proteins in the basic region of the gel matrix. The three RNAases had comparable isoform profiles, each with two protein bands with approximate pI values of 10.3 and 10.4. Western blotting showed that the two protein bands of each RNAase were immunoreactive (with polyclonal antibodies that recognize RNAase), indicating that the protein bands are RNAase isoforms. The present results provide reliable pI data on human RNAase isoforms and suggest that IPG-CA-IEF should be a suitable technique for analysing the isoforms of other alkaline proteins

Beta-Hexosaminidase from Colon and Sera of Dukes-Classified Colorectal Cancer Patients: Activity Levels, Isozyme Patterns, and Kinetic Properties.

Total activity levels, isozyme patterns, and kinetic properties of beta-hexosaminidase were studied in crude supernatants of malignant and adjacent, uninvolved normal colon tissues and in sera from 28 Dukes-classified colorectal cancer patients. A significant increase (P less than .001) in both beta-hexosaminidase activity and beta-hexosaminidase specific activity and a significant increase (P less than .01) in the relative percentage of activity comprised by the basic thermostable form of beta-hexosaminidase (Hex B) isozyme were found in malignant tissue compared to the activities seen in uninvolved normal colon tissue. No apparent correlations were found between either beta-hexosaminidase activity levels or relative percentage of Hex B and Dukes category. Kinetic analysis indicated that the thermolabile form of beta-hexosaminidase and Hex B from malignant colon were comparable to the corresponding isozymes from normal colon with regard to thermostability after preincubation at 50 degrees C and pH activity curves (optimum between pH 4.0 and 5.0). Significantly decreased (P less than .05) beta-hexosaminidase activity was found in sera of the 28 colorectal cancer patients (17.3 +/- 5.2 U/ml, mean +/- SD) when compared to the activity in 19 controls with nonmalignant diseases (21.4 +/- 8.2 U/ml) and 17 normal controls (21.3 +/- 6.4 U/ml). Isoelectric focusing indicated that a peak of beta-hexosaminidase activity with an isoelectric point value (9.5) comparable to that of the peak found in increased amounts in malignant colon was detectable in the sera of 36% of the colorectal cancer patients and 11% of the controls

Variant Serum Beta-Hexosaminidase as a Biochemical Marker of Malignancy.

Previous studies have demonstrated a variant form of beta-hexosaminidase in metastatic tumor tissue of human liver and in sera from cancer patients with liver metastases. The current investigation examined sera for the presence of the variant form of beta-hexosaminidase from a large and heterogeneous group of cancer patients (with different primary sites and differing degrees of metastatic involvement), from normal controls and pathological controls with nonmalignant diseases. Comparison of the total serum beta-hexosaminidase activity levels and the percentage of the total activity comprised of beta-hexosaminidase B (Hex B) revealed no significant differences (P greater than 0.01) between the three groups. Analytical isoelectric focusing indicated that the variant beta-hexosaminidase was present in 80% of 108 cancer patients, 37% of 27 pathological controls and 11% of 18 normal controls. Examination of subgroups of the cancer patients based on the extent of metastasis revealed that there was a significant increase in total serum beta-hexosaminidase activity and the presence of variant beta-hexosaminidase in the sera as the disease progressed. These results suggest that serum beta-hexosaminidase may be a useful marker for monitoring the progression of malignant disease

Improved Procedure for Determination of Serum Lipid-Associated Sialic Acid: Application for Early Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer.

We have developed a simple and reliable procedure for determining serum levels of lipid-associated sialic acid (LASA) in crude preparations. This method extracts essentially all gangliosides, excludes glycoprotein-bound sialic acid, and gives LASA values (0.5-1.0 mg/dL) in good agreement with values for isolated serum gangliosides. The procedure was used to determine serum levels of LASA in patients with colorectal cancer, in patients with nonmalignant diseases (pathological control subjects), and in normal control subjects. The results indicated that the percentages of total sialic acid (TSA) comprised by LASA (LASA/TSA X 100) were elevated in patients with the earliest stages of colorectal cancer, compared with percentages in normal control subjects (P less than .001) and pathological control subjects (P less than .01)

Evaluation of Serum Sialic Acid and Carcinoembryonic Antigen for the Detection of Early-Stage Colorectal Cancer.

Various expressions of elevated serum sialic acid (total sialic acid, TSA: lipid-associated sialic acid, LASA; LASA/TSA; TSA normalized to total protein, TSA/TP) have been evaluated and compared with increased serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels for the detection of early-stage colorectal cancer. This evaluation was done blindly on a coded panel of 320 sera from staged colorectal cancer patients and controls provided by the Mayo Clinic--National Cancer Institute Diagnostic Bank. Unlike the findings of a previous preliminary study (Tautu et al., JNCI 80:1333-1337, 1988), the ratio of LASA/TSA was not useful for detecting early-stage (Dukes A and B) colorectal cancer. However, TSA and TSA/TP values were significantly elevated in each colorectal cancer subgroup compared with normal controls. TSA and TSA/TP values displayed a marginally better discriminatory power than CEA values in the case of Dukes A subgroup with respect to normal controls. CEA still appears to be the best single overall marker for discriminating between colorectal cancers and controls. However, multiple marker analysis using CEA and TSA (and related markers) appears to be more sensitive than CEA alone for detecting colorectal cancer

Total and Lipid-Associated Serum Sialic Acid Levels in Cancer Patients with Different Primary Sites and Differing Degrees of Metastatic Involvement.

Serum total sialic acid (TSA) and lipid-associated sialic acid (LASA) levels have drawn considerable interest because of carbohydrate aberrations in malignant cells. The current investigation determined the TSA, LASA, total protein (TP), and TSA/TP values for 171 cancer patients with various primary sites and differing degrees of metastatic disease, 102 patients with nonmalignant diseases (pathologic controls), and 42 normal individuals. Data analysis indicated significant (p less than 0.01) increases in the mean (+/- SD) TSA and TSA/TP values in the cancer patients (78.1 +/- 19.2 mg/dl and 12.4 +/- 3.8 mg/g, respectively) and in the pathologic controls (76.0 +/- 7.5 mg/dl and 11.6 +/- 2.5 mg/g) when compared to the normal controls (67.3 +/- 7.1 mg/dl and 9.0 +/- 1.1 mg/g), and a significant decrease in the mean TP values in the cancer patients (6.4 +/- 1.1 g/dl) and pathologic controls (6.6 +/- 1.1 g/dl) when compared to normal controls (7.5 +/- 0.5 g/dl). No significant difference was observed between groups in LASA values. Further analysis of the data in patient subgroups based on the tissue involved, specific disease, or severity of the malignancy indicated that the lack of specificity of the markers was due primarily to restricted subgroups and that the sensitivity of TSA and TSA/TP increased as the malignancy became more severe. The results show that TSA/TP was the most useful of the markers tested for detecting malignancies. This marker should prove useful for monitoring malignant disease recurrence and/or progression and for evaluating the effectiveness of various therapeutic approaches