An Investigation into the Use of Microchemistry Experiments in First-year University-level Practicals

In the case study reported on in this article the desirability to convert first-year university-level practicals in chemistry from conventional techniques to microscale methods was investigated. The results indicated that microscale experiments did not result in a noticeable saving in time and gave results that compare favourably with those of the conventional experiments. The most positive aspect of microscale experiments is a long-term financial one. A few negative aspects of microscale experiments were identified in the study. In hierdie bydrae word 'n gevallestudie gerapporteer oor die wenslikheid om eerstevlak universiteitschemie-prakties van konvensionele tegnieke na mikroskaaltegnieke om te skakel. Die resultate toon dat die mikroskaaleksperimente nie noemenswaardig tydsbesparend is nie en resultate lewer wat goed vergelyk met di? van konvensionele eksperimente. Die mees positiewe aspek van mikroskaaleksperimente is finansi?le besparing op die lang termyn. Enkele negatiewe aspekte van mikroskaaleksperimente is in die ondersoek ge?dentifiseer. Keywords: Microscale, Practicals, Chemicals, Microchemistry, First-level South African Journal of Chemistry Vol.57 2004: 19-2

EFTfitter: A tool for interpreting measurements in the context of effective field theories

Over the past years, the interpretation of measurements in the context of effective field theories has attracted much attention in the field of particle physics. We present a tool for interpreting sets of measurements in such models using a Bayesian ansatz by calculating the posterior probabilities of the corresponding free parameters numerically. An example is given, in which top-quark measurements are used to constrain anomalous couplings at the Wtb-vertex.The authors would like to thank Fabian Bach, Kathrin Becker, Dominic Hirschbühl and Mikolaj Misiak for their help and for the fruitful discussions. In particular, the authors would like to thank Fabian Bach for providing the code for the single-top cross sections. N.C. acknowledges the support of FCT-Portugal through the contract IF/00050/2013/CP1172/CT00

Genome-Wide Gene Amplification during Differentiation of Neural Progenitor Cells In Vitro

DNA sequence amplification is a phenomenon that occurs predictably at defined stages during normal development in some organisms. Developmental gene amplification was first described in amphibians during gametogenesis and has not yet been described in humans. To date gene amplification in humans is a hallmark of many tumors. We used array-CGH (comparative genomic hybridization) and FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) to discover gene amplifications during in vitro differentiation of human neural progenitor cells. Here we report a complex gene amplification pattern two and five days after induction of differentiation of human neural progenitor cells. We identified several amplified genes in neural progenitor cells that are known to be amplified in malignant tumors. There is also a striking overlap of amplified chromosomal regions between differentiating neural progenitor cells and malignant tumor cells derived from astrocytes. Gene amplifications in normal human cells as physiological process has not been reported yet and may bear resemblance to developmental gene amplifications in amphibians and insects

Alveolar soft part sarcoma: clinicopathological findings in a series of 11 cases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Alveolar sarcoma of the soft parts (ASPS) represents a very rare entity of soft tissue sarcoma with special features such as young peak age incidence and frequent metastasis to the brain. The aim of this study was a clinicopathological analysis with special reference to treatment and outcome.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>From the database of the BG-University Hospital Bergmannsheil, 1597 soft tissue sarcoma (STS) cases were reviewed and 11 consecutive patients with ASPS were isolated. Data was acquired from patients' charts and contact to patients, their relatives or general practitioners, with special reference to treatment and clinical course. The average follow up time from the time of the definite operation for the primary tumor was 6.5 years. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients with localized disease who received complete resection and adjuvant radiation and who did not develop recurrence or metastatic disease within 2 years after surgery had a positive outcome. The size of the tumor, its localization, and the time of untreated growth before treatment did not influence the long-term results. All patients who developed recurrent disease also suffered from distant metastasis, reflecting the aggressive biology of the tumor. All patients with distant metastasis had the lungs and the brain affected.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Due to the limited number of patients with ASPS, prospective studies would have to span decades to gather a significant collective of patients; therefore, it is not possible to comment meaningfully on a possible benefit of neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy.</p> <p>We recommend wide surgical excision and, in the absence of data telling otherwise, adjuvant radiation. In cases with recurrent disease or metastasis, the prognosis is bad and further treatment will be restricted to palliation in most cases.</p

Toxicity, Tunneling and Feeding Behavior of the Termite, Coptotermes vastator, in Sand Treated with Oil of the Physic Nut, Jatropha curcas

Oil of the physic nut, Jatropha curcas L. (Malpighiales: Euphorbiaceae), was evaluated in the laboratory for its barrier and repellent activity against the Philippine milk termite Coptotermes vastator Light (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). The study showed that J. curcas oil had anti-feeding effect, induced reduction in tunneling activity and increased mortality in C. vastator. Behavior of termites exposed to sand treated with J. curcas oil indicated that it is toxic or repellent to C. vastator. Toxicity and repellent thresholds, were higher than those reported for other naturally occurring compounds tested against the Formosan subterranean termite

How Digital Are the Digital Humanities? An Analysis of Two Scholarly Blogging Platforms

In this paper we compare two academic networking platforms, HASTAC and Hypotheses, to show the distinct ways in which they serve specific communities in the Digital Humanities (DH) in different national and disciplinary contexts. After providing background information on both platforms, we apply co-word analysis and topic modeling to show thematic similarities and differences between the two sites, focusing particularly on how they frame DH as a new paradigm in humanities research. We encounter a much higher ratio of posts using humanities-related terms compared to their digital counterparts, suggesting a one-way dependency of digital humanities-related terms on the corresponding unprefixed labels. The results also show that the terms digital archive, digital literacy, and digital pedagogy are relatively independent from the respective unprefixed terms, and that digital publishing, digital libraries, and digital media show considerable cross-pollination between the specialization and the general noun. The topic modeling reproduces these findings and reveals further differences between the two platforms. Our findings also indicate local differences in how the emerging field of DH is conceptualized and show dynamic topical shifts inside these respective contexts

Suppression of Soft Tissue Sarcoma Growth by a Host Defense-Like Lytic Peptide

BACKGROUND: Soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is an anatomically and histologically heterogeneous neoplasia that shares a putative mesenchymal cell origin. The treatment with common chemotherapeutics is still unsatisfying because of association with poor response rates. Although evidence is accumulating for potent oncolytic activity of host defense peptides (HDPs), their potential therapeutic use is often limited by poor bioavailability and inactivation in serum. Therefore, we tested the designer host defense-like lytic D,L-amino acid peptide [D]-K3H3L9 on two STS cell lines in vitro and also in an athymic and syngeneic mouse model. In recent studies the peptide could show selectivity against prostate carcinoma cells and also an active state in serum. METHODS: In vitro the human synovial sarcoma cell line SW982, the murine fibrosarcoma cell line BFS-1 and primary human fibroblasts as a control were exposed to [D]-K3H3L9, a 15mer D,L-amino acid designer HDP. Cell vitality in physiological and acidic conditions (MTT-assay), cell growth (BrdU) and DNA-fragmentation (TUNEL) were investigated. Membrane damage at different time points could be analyzed with LDH assay. An antibody against the tested peptide and recordings using scanning electron microscopy could give an inside in the mode of action. In vivo [D]-K3H3L9 was administered intratumorally in an athymic and syngeneic (immunocompetent) mouse model with SW982 and BFS-1 cells, respectively. After three weeks tumor sections were histologically analyzed. RESULTS: The peptide exerts rapid and high significant cytotoxicity and antiproliferating activity against the malignant cell lines, apparently via a membrane disrupting mode of action. The local intratumoral administration of [D]-K3H3L9 in the athymic and syngeneic mice models significantly inhibited tumor progression. The histological analyses of the tumor sections revealed a significant antiproliferative, antiangiogenic activity of the treatment group. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate the in vitro and in vivo oncolytic activity of [D]-K3H3L9 in athymic and syngeneic mouse models