On-line single droplet deposition for MALDI mass spectrometry

A single droplet generator was coupled with a rotating ball inlet matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometer. Single droplets with 100 picoliter volume were ejected by a piezoelectric-actuated droplet generator and deposited onto a matrix-coated rotating stainless steel ball at atmospheric pressure. The single droplet deposit was transported to the vacuum side of the instrument where ionization was accomplished using a UV pulsed laser. Using this on-line interface, it was possible to obtain protonated molecule signal from as little as 10 fmol analyte. © 2004 American Society for Mass Spectrometry

SCHOOLING AND SEX ROLES: Sex Differences in Subject Provision and Student Choice in Irish Post-Primary Schools. ESRI General Research Series Paper No. 113, May 1983

This is ill many respects a highly technical report which has had to he " designedto suit a very variable readership: the specialist researcher, the educationalist, policy-makers, parents and the interested public, and those directly concerned with making the main policy decisions at an individual school level. For those who want to find out what our main findings and conclusions are, these are summarised in Chapters 10 and I I. In addition, each chapter ends with a short summary &the main results and conclusions. For those seeking to assess the evidence and the quality of the analysis underlying our conclusions we indicate in Chapter 10 where in the text the relevant evidence is provided. For those wishing to evaluate our assumptions, the selection of the main variables in our analysis and the reliability of samples and measurements, information provided in Chapters 1 and 2 would be essential reading

GPs' perceptions of resilience training: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: GPs are reporting increasing levels of burnout, stress, and job dissatisfaction, and there is a looming GP shortage. Promoting resilience is a key strategy for enhancing the sustainability of the healthcare workforce and improving patient care. AIM: To explore GPs' perspectives on the content, context, and acceptability of resilience training programmes in general practice, in order to build more effective GP resilience programmes. DESIGN AND SETTING: This was a qualitative study of the perspectives of GPs currently practising in England. METHOD: GPs were recruited through convenience sampling, and data were collected from two focus groups (n = 15) and one-to-one telephone interviews (n = 7). A semi-structured interview approach was used and data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Participants perceived resilience training to be potentially of value in ameliorating workplace stresses. Nevertheless, uncertainty was expressed regarding how best to provide training for stressed GPs who have limited time. Participants suspected that GPs most likely to benefit from resilience training were the least likely to engage, as stress and being busy worked against engagement. Conflicting views were expressed about the most suitable training delivery method for promoting better engagement. Participants also emphasised that training should not only place the focus on the individual, but also focus on organisation issues. CONCLUSION: A multimodal, flexible approach based on individual needs and learning aims, including resilience workshops within undergraduate training and in individual practices, is likely to be the optimal way to promote resilience

Recommended isolated-line profile for representing high-resolution spectroscopic transitions (IUPAC Technical Report)

The report of an IUPAC Task Group, formed in 2011 on "Intensities and line shapes in high-resolution spectra of water isotopologues from experiment and theory" (Project No. 2011-022-2-100), on line profiles of isolated high-resolution rotational-vibrational transitions perturbed by neutral gas-phase molecules is presented. The well-documented inadequacies of the Voigt profile (VP), used almost universally by databases and radiative-transfer codes, to represent pressure effects and Doppler broadening in isolated vibrational-rotational and pure rotational transitions of the water molecule have resulted in the development of a variety of alternative line-profile models. These models capture more of the physics of the influence of pressure on line shapes but, in general, at the price of greater complexity. The Task Group recommends that the partially Correlated quadratic-Speed-Dependent Hard-Collision profile should be adopted as the appropriate model for high-resolution spectroscopy. For simplicity this should be called the Hartmann--Tran profile (HTP). The HTP is sophisticated enough to capture the various collisional contributions to the isolated line shape, can be computed in a straightforward and rapid manner, and reduces to simpler profiles, including the Voigt profile, under certain simplifying assumptions.Comment: Accepted for publication in Pure and Applied Chemistr

Cold Atmospheric Plasma Induces Accumulation of Lysosomes and Caspase-independent Cell Death in U373MG Glioblastoma Multiforme Cells

Room temperature Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) has shown promising efficacy for the treatment of cancer but the exact mechanisms of action remain unclear. Both apoptosis and necrosis have been implicated as the mode of cell death in various cancer cells. We have previously demonstrated a caspase-independent mechanism of cell death in p53-mutated glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells exposed to plasma. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in caspase-independent cell death induced by plasma treatment. We demonstrate that plasma induces rapid cell death in GBM cells, independent of caspases. Accumulation of vesicles was observed in plasma treated cells that stained positive with acridine orange. Western immunoblotting confirmed that autophagy is not activated following plasma treatment. Acridine orange intensity correlates closely with the lysosomal marker Lyso TrackerTM Deep Red. Further investigation using isosurface visualisation of confocal imaging confirmed that lysosomal accumulation occurs in plasma treated cells. The accumulation of lysosomes was associated with concomitant cell death following plasma treatment. In conclusion, we observed rapid accumulation of acidic vesicles and cell death following CAP treatment in GBM cells. We found no evidence that either apoptosis or autophagy, however, determined that a rapid accumulation of late stage endosomes/lysosomes precedes membrane permeabilisation, mitochondrial membrane depolarisation and caspase independent cell death

Cold Atmospheric Plasma induces accumulation of lysosomes and caspase-independent cell death in U373MG glioblastoma multiforme cells

Room temperature Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) has shown promising efficacy for the treatment of cancer but the exact mechanisms of action remain unclear. Both apoptosis and necrosis have been implicated as the mode of cell death in various cancer cells. We have previously demonstrated a caspase-independent mechanism of cell death in p53-mutated glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cells exposed to plasma. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the molecular mechanisms involved in caspase-independent cell death induced by plasma treatment. We demonstrate that plasma induces rapid cell death in GBM cells, independent of caspases. Accumulation of vesicles was observed in plasma treated cells that stained positive with acridine orange. Western immunoblotting confirmed that autophagy is not activated following plasma treatment. Acridine orange intensity correlates closely with the lysosomal marker Lyso TrackerTM Deep Red. Further investigation using isosurface visualisation of confocal imaging confirmed that lysosomal accumulation occurs in plasma treated cells. The accumulation of lysosomes was associated with concomitant cell death following plasma treatment. In conclusion, we observed rapid accumulation of acidic vesicles and cell death following CAP treatment in GBM cells. We found no evidence that either apoptosis or autophagy, however, determined that a rapid accumulation of late stage endosomes/lysosomes precedes membrane permeabilisation, mitochondrial membrane depolarisation and caspase independent cell death

Luminance-polarity distribution across the symmetry axis affects the electrophysiological response to symmetry

Electrophysiological studies of symmetry have found a difference wave termed the Sustained Posterior Negativity (SPN) related to the presence of symmetry. Yet the extent to which the SPN is modulated by luminance-polarity and colour content is unknown. Here we examine how luminance-polarity distribution across the symmetry axis, grouping by luminance polarity, and the number of colours in the stimuli, modulate the SPN. Stimuli were dot patterns arranged either symmetrically or quasi-randomly. There were several arrangements: ’segregated’-symmetric dots were of one polarity and random dots of the other; ‘unsegregated’-symmetric dots were of both polarities in equal proportions; ‘anti-symmetric’-dots were of opposite polarity across the symmetry axis; ‘polarity-grouped anti-symmetric’-as anti-symmetric but with half the pattern of one polarity and the other opposite; multi-colour symmetric patterns made of either two, three and four colours. We found that the SPN is: reduced by the amount of position-symmetry, sensitive to luminance-polarity mismatch across the symmetry axis and not modulated by the number of colours in the stimuli. Our results show that the sustained nature of the SPN coincides with the late onset of a topographic microstate sensitive to symmetry. These findings emphasise the importance of not only position symmetry, but also luminance polarity matching across the symmetry axis