An efficient and robust HPLC method to determine the sialylation levels of human epithelial cells

Sialyltransferase, an enzyme responsible for attaching sialic acid to the cell surface, is reported to play a key role in cancer, making sialyltransferase a potential therapeutic target in drug development. Several methods have been developed to quantify sialic acids in biological samples however limitations exists and quantification in complex cell matrices lack investigation. Hence, this paper outlines a simple method to detect and quantify sialic acids in cancer cells for evaluating sialyltransferase activity of potential therapeutic compounds. An efficient method was developed using a reverse-phase ion-pairing HPLC-UV using triisopropanolamine as the ion-pairing agent with a C18 column. Neu5Ac was successfully eluted with the retention time 6.344 min with a flow rate of 0.4 mL/min. The proposed method was validated appropriately according to the AOAC guidelines (2013). This work demonstrates that the proposed method is not only relatively simple but also cost and time effective compared to pre-existing methods to successfully determine both free and protein-bound Neu5Ac in a complex cancer cell matrix. Furthermore, by applying the proposed method, a statistically significant decrease was observed for both HeLa and HuCCT1 cell lines with the application of deoxycholic acid–a known sialyltransferase inhibitor. Hence, the proposed method seems promisingly applicable to evaluate the effectiveness of potential sialyltransferase inhibitors

Characteristics and treatments of large cystic brain metastasis: radiosurgery and stereotactic aspiration.

Brain metastasis represents one of the most common causes of intracranial tumors in adults, and the incidence of brain metastasis continues to rise due to the increasing survival of cancer patients. Yet, the development of cystic brain metastasis remains a relatively rare occurrence. In this review, we describe the characteristics of cystic brain metastasis and evaluate the combined use of stereotactic aspiration and radiosurgery in treating large cystic brain metastasis. The results of several studies show that stereotactic radiosurgery produces comparable local tumor control and survival rates as other surgery protocols. When the size of the tumor interferes with radiosurgery, stereotactic aspiration of the metastasis should be considered to reduce the target volume as well as decreasing the chance of radiation induced necrosis and providing symptomatic relief from mass effect. The combined use of stereotactic aspiration and radiosurgery has strong implications in improving patient outcomes

Salvage of a failed open gastrocutaneous fistula repair with an endoscopic over-the-scope clip

AbstractOnce enteral access via gastrostomy tube (G-tube) is no longer indicated, the tube is typically removed in clinic with a high probability of spontaneous closure. When spontaneous closure is not achieved, the formation of a gastrocutaneous fistula (GCF) is possible. The incidence of GCF is directly related with the length of time the tube has been placed. When conservative management fails, surgical intervention is the standard treatment. Endoscopic techniques have been described for primary closure of GCF in adults including banding and cauterizing of the fistula tract with placement of a standard endoscopic clip. Over-the-scope clips (OTSC) have recently been reported in primary GCF closure in children (Wright et al., 2015). In patients with skin irritation surrounding a GCF making surgical repair difficult, endoscopic OTSC closure provides particular benefit. It is our belief that this is the first case report of endoscopically salvaging a leak from a failed open GCF repair

Un/learning Habituation of Body-Mind Binary through the Teaching/Learning Body/Mind

A complex critique of how society constructs women of color in the academy combines with deeply personal interludes and a polyphony of scholarly voices to demonstrate ways that their objectified bodies can not only resist but also improvise as they question what it means to be different

In Conversation Together: Student Ambassadors for Cultural Competence

Amani and Tai: We’re academic developers interested in working in partnership with students. In 2014, we trialled partnership through working with six Student Ambassadors as part of the Sydney Teaching Colloquium. The Colloquium is the university’s annual teaching conference and usually draws around 300 participants, mainly academics, to discuss teaching and curriculum practices. The theme of the 2014 Colloquium was ‘Is our assessment up to standard?’ The Student Ambassadors: • developed a social media campaign to engage the Sydney student community in the Colloquium; • designed a session on assessment to present at the Colloquium; • devised and executed a Colloquium evaluation strategy; • curated and developed resources; and • contributed to the planning and writing of a co-authored journal publication (Peseta et al., 2016). The experiences and outcomes from the trial gave us courage to try again and so the following year, we engaged another six Student Ambassadors for the 2015 Colloquium. This time the theme was ‘Cultural competence is everyone’s business,’ which linked with the university’s new strategic focus on cultural competence (The University of Sydney Strategic Plan, 2016-2020). We followed the 2014 model described in Peseta et al. (2016), where students were selected via an expression of interest and interview process. We were mainly looking for undergraduate students interested in learning about cultural competence (CC), who could see the relevance of CC to students’ experiences of university more broadly and had creative ideas about how to do it, and who wanted to develop their knowledge of university CC initiatives. The students were paid for their time spent as an ambassador, which involved approximately 40 hours of face-to-face meetings, preparation, participation in the Colloquium, and a post-Colloquium focus group over 3-4 months

An Inpatient Patient Safety Curriculum for Pediatric Residents.

Introduction: Patient safety is recognized as an important part of pediatric resident education. There is a lack of published safety curricula targeting pediatric residents. A local needs assessment showed that while residents felt safety was an important part of their current and future jobs, they did not feel prepared to apply safety principles to their future careers or participate in a root cause analysis (RCA). Methods: This curriculum was delivered to senior-level pediatric and multiple-board residents during five monthly, hour-long, multidisciplinary sessions. Sessions covered systems-based thinking, terminology, the second victim phenomenon, RCA, and medication errors, while providing feedback on recent event reports filed by residents. Resident knowledge, attitudes, and reporting behavior were evaluated prior to and following the curriculum. Results: Attendees showed statistically significant improved safety attitudes and preparedness to apply safety to their future endeavors; conversely, there were no significant changes in nonattendees. There were no significant changes in knowledge scores or event reporting. Answers to qualitative questions identified learning about the reporting process, RCAs, and follow-up on filed event reports as valuable parts of the curriculum. Residents desired more time to debrief about safety events. Discussion: The curriculum succeeded in engaging residents in patient safety and making them feel prepared for future practice. Residents showed a dissonance between their intentions to report and their actual reporting behaviors, the reasons for which require further exploration. Residents desired a forum to deal with the emotions involved in errors. This curriculum is easily transferable to other institutions with minor modifications

Effect of Ti-substitution on the properties of P3 structure Na2/3Mn0.8Li0.2O2 showing a ribbon superlattice

Funding: Faraday Institution (Grant Number(s): FIRG018); Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant Number(s): EP/T019298/1, EP/L017008/1, EP/R023751/1); Energimyndigheten (Grant Number(s): 2020-005249); Spring 8 (Grant Number(s): 2019B1604).Oxygen anion redox offers an effective strategy to enhance the energy density of layered oxide positive electrodes for sodium- and lithium-ion batteries. However, lattice oxygen loss and irreversible structural transformations over the first cycle may result in large voltage hysteresis, thereby impeding practical application. Herein, ribbon superstructure ordering of Li/transition-metal-ions was applied to suppress the voltage hysteresis combined with Ti-substitution to improve the cycling stability for P3-Na0.67Li0.2Ti0.15Mn0.65O2. When both cation and anion redox reactions are utilized, Na0.67Li0.2Ti0.15Mn0.65O2 delivers a reversible capacity of 172 mA h g−1 after 25 cycles at 10 mA g−1 between 1.6–4.4 V vs. Na+/Na. Ex-situ X-ray diffraction data reveal that the ribbon superstructure is retained with negligible unit cell volume expansion/contraction upon sodiation/desodiation. The performance as a positive electrode for Li-ion batteries was also evaluated and P3-Na0.67Li0.2Ti0.15Mn0.65O2 delivers a reversible capacity of 180 mA h g−1 after 25 cycles at 10 mA g−1 when cycled vs. Li+/Li between 2.0–4.8 V.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Acute Pesticide Illnesses Associated with Off-Target Pesticide Drift from Agricultural Applications: 11 States, 1998–2006

Background: Pesticides are widely used in agriculture, and off-target pesticide drift exposes workers and the public to harmful chemicals