Waste behaviour in UBC Food Services residence dining halls

The purpose of this project was to assess how waste is produced and managed at UBC residential dining halls at Place Vanier and Totem Park residences and to provide feedback and recommendations as to how existing waste behaviour practices can be further improved. We developed and addressed the following research question: “What is the current waste management system in the two residential dining halls and how can we improve waste behaviour to reduce total waste produced from these sites”. We surveyed the dining halls and kitchens of these residential areas and assessed the levels of waste production, disposal and sorting activities of pre- and post-consumers at these sites. We also conducted literature reviews and consulted with professionals and waste management experts to obtain more information about how waste are managed at different areas. Pre and post-consumer waste sorting can be optimized through the use of 3-bin system, which is effective in dining halls but contamination must be reduced. Hard plastic are being sold off for charity and soft plastic are being recycled. Space for bin recycling is a limitation for the kitchen area; recycling efforts are made harder due to proximity of recycling stations. Increase usage and Eco-to-go program is a critical factor in waste reduction. Funding of the composting vessel is generated by UBC. Government funding of waste disposal has caused lack of awareness in waste sorting. Current campus waste diversion is at 44%, but a maximal value of 95% can be achieved. This can be achieved through right education, advertisements and incentives. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat

De Novo Human Cardiac Myocytes for Medical Research: Promises and Challenges

The advent of cellular reprogramming technology has revolutionized biomedical research. De novo human cardiac myocytes can now be obtained from direct reprogramming of somatic cells (such as fibroblasts), from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs, which are reprogrammed from somatic cells), and from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Such de novo human cardiac myocytes hold great promise for in vitro disease modeling and drug screening and in vivo cell therapy of heart disease. Here, we review the technique advancements for generating de novo human cardiac myocytes. We also discuss several challenges for the use of such cells in research and regenerative medicine, such as the immature phenotype and heterogeneity of de novo cardiac myocytes obtained with existing protocols. We focus on the recent advancements in addressing such challenges

Room temperature screening of thermal conductivity by means of thermal transient measurements

A proof of concept of the possibility to estimate thermal conductivity of bulk disc samples at room temperature by means of thermal decays is demonstrated. An experimental set-up was designed and fabricated, which is able to perform thermal transient measurements by using a specially designed multifunctional probe that has the ability to measure temperature at its tip. Initially, the probe is heated by a heater coil located in its interior until the tip temperature reaches a steady state. Then, the probe is contacted with a disc sample which produces a temperature decay until a new state is reached. The difference between the initial and final states temperatures shows a correlation with the thermal conductivity of the sample. Employing a calibration equation, obtained using reference materials, the thermal conductivity can be calculated. Reasonably good random and systematic errors (<13% and ~9% respectively) are obtained. Theoretical simulations performed using COMSOL show a good qualitative agreement with experimental results. This new method involves an inexpensive and simple set-up which can be especially useful for thermal conductivity screening and high-throughput measurements

GNB2L1 and its O-GlcNAcylation regulates metastasis via modulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the chemoresistance of gastric cancer

<div><p>GNB2L1 and its O-GlcNAcylation has been reported to play roles in gastric cancer metastasis. However, the roles of GNB2L1 in chemoresistance of gastric cancer has never been determined. In the present study, we found that GNB2L1 was downregulated in chemoresistant patients of gastric cancer, and observed the decrease of GNB2L1 in protein levels instead of mRNA levels in different chemoresistant gastric cancer cell lines. Further we proved that this downregulation of GNB2L1 was resulted from its elevated O-GlcNAcylation catalyzed by OGT in both cell lines and patients. Next, we investigate the function of GNB2L1 and its O-GlcNAcylation on gastric cancer metastasis during chemoresistance, and confirmed Ser124 as the major O-GlcNAcylation site on GNB2L1 that regulated its function on metastasis. Furthermore, our data demonstrated that GNB2L1 modulated EMT via regulating the translation of EMT-related proteins in the process of chemoresistance. In summary, this study indicated that GNB2L1 and its O-GlcNAcylation regulated metastasis via modulating the translation of EMT-related proteins in the chemoresistance of gastric cancer.</p></div

Chemoresistant gastric cancer is associated with decreased protein level of GNB2L1.

<p>(A-C) Protein levels of GNB2L1 in tumor tissues from chemosensitive patients and chemoresistant patients were determined by WB (A) and IHC (B-C). Representative images (A-B) and statistical data (C) were shown. (D) Transcriptional levels of GNB2L1 in tumor tissues were determined by qPCR. (E-F) Protein levels and mRNA levels of GNB2L1 were further assessed in SGC-7901 cells and several chemoresistant cells derived from SGC-7901 cells. Progressive disease (PD) was considered as chemoresistant; complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR) and stable disease (SD) as chemosensitive. GAPDH was used as loading control. N.S., not significant; ***, P <0.001.</p

OGT elevated O-GlcNAcylation on GNB2L1 in chemoresistant gastric cancer.

<p>(A-B) The O-GlcNAcylation levels of GNB2L1 in different chemoresistant cells (A) and different tissue samples (B) were assessed via IP analysis, and protein levels of OGT and OGA were also determined via WB. Progressive disease (PD) was considered as chemoresistant; complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR) and stable disease (SD) as chemosensitive. GAPDH was used as loading control.(C-E) Correlation analysis of GNB2L1 levels with OGT (D) or OGA (E) in chemoresistant gastric cancer patients. Representative images (C) and statistical data (D-E) were shown. *, P<0.05.</p

GNB2L1 and its O-GlcNAcylation regulated EMT in chemoresistance.

<p>(A) The protein levels of EMT-related markers, E-cadherin and N-cadherin were determined by WB in SGC-7901/DDP cells. (B-D) The changes of E-cadherin and N-cadherin in protein level were further confirmed in tumor tissues by IHC (B). The correlation between GNB2L1 and E-cadherin or N-cadherin in clinical chemoresistant gastric cancer cases was determined by IHC (C-D). Representative images (B) and statistical data (C-D) were shown. (E) Transcriptional alternation of E-cadherin was assessed in qPCR analysis. (F) The translation alternation of EMT-related proteins was determined in SGC-7901/DDP transfected with or without GNB2L1 via WB. And some cells were treated with CHX (50 μM) for 30 min. GAPDH was used as loading control. All experiments were repeated more than 3 times. PD, progressive disease (considered as chemoresistance); n.s., not significant.</p