How Can We Stop Cancer?

Cancer is a disease that humans have been struggling to combat for centuries. It originates from the accumulation of several mutations over the life of a cell that causes it to evade cell death and multiply rapidly. It can affect any tissue in the body and can spread to other parts of the body through metastasis. Cancer comes in numerous shapes and sizes with different levels of aggression, growth speeds, and health risks. Many treatments for cancer exist today, three of the most popular being surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, which can be used in combinations with other treatments to best fight cancer. Verma et al. (2019) showed that when surgical resection is used before chemotherapy, a significant decrease in postoperative hospitalization lengths and 30-day mortality rates occurs, with correlation to trends that show increased overall survival and decreased 90-day mortality rates as well. Kim et al. (2018) approached treating surgery with a targeted therapy called anti-angiogenesis using the prodrug TA, which provided successful results in combating cancer cells by inducing apoptosis in cancer cells themselves as well as the endothelial cells that nourish tumors. This research can be taken into account by oncologists and physicians when prescribing certain treatment methods in fighting cancer, as these treatment options may have similar effects in treating and preventing other cancers, neoplastic diseases, and infections that leach nutrients from the body

Using e-portfolios for learning and assessment within the Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) at the University of Salford

The e-portfolio system PebblePad is being trialled since September 2010 by the Academic Development Unit (ADU) during the Engaging and Enhancing Student Learning (EESL) 30 credits module of the blended PGCAP programme. It is used as a personal learning space, to capture reflections, the process of learning and for assessment purposes

ANSCO reminiscences

Article by Prof Emeritus Ira Current, retired faculty member, about his early days at Ansco (later Agfa/Ansco), his arrival and on-the-job anecdotes prior to WWII

The Investigation of Novel Bovine Oocyte-Specific Long Non-coding RNAs and Their Roles in Oocyte Maturation and Early Embryonic Development

Early embryonic loss is a significant factor in livestock species\u27 infertility, resulting in an economic deficit. In cattle, the in vivo fertilization rate is ~90%, with an average calving rate of about 55%, indicating an embryonic-fetal mortality rate of roughly 35%. Further, 70-80% of total embryonic loss in cattle occurs during the first three weeks after insemination, particularly between days 7-16. Growing evidence indicates that the oocyte plays an active role in regulating critical aspects of the reproductive process required for successful fertilization, embryo development, and pregnancy. However, defining oocyte quality remains enigmatic. Recently, many have abandoned the notion that one transcript or gene network modulates oocyte competence. Instead, it is speculated that a vast network of transcripts regulates gene expression. With the advent of deep sequencing technology, it was discovered that roughly 1.2% of the human genome represents protein-coding exons, whereas the remaining classifies as non-coding RNA. What once was thought of as “genetic noise” from leaky transcriptional machinery has more recently come to the foreground of modern research in molecular biology due to its broad versatility in regulating gene expression. Specifically, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to play critical roles in various biological processes. Despite their gaining popularity, most lncRNA studies focus on identifying differentially expressed lncRNAs throughout bodily systems and are left to predict their functional roles using bioinformatic and comparative analyses. Recently, lncRNAs have been identified as critical regulators of embryonic genome activation in humans, mice, pigs, goats, and rabbits. Further investigations of lncRNAs in mouse oocytes and early embryos have revealed essential roles in regulating oocyte maturation and early embryonic development. However, the functional role of lncRNAs in bovine oocytes remains to be elucidated. Previously, using RNA sequencing, our laboratory identified 1,535 lncRNAs present in bovine oocytes. The top three candidate genes, OOSNCR1, OOSNCR2, and OOSNCR3, were characterized in bovine somatic tissues, the cells within the ovarian follicle, and throughout early embryonic development. Our data revealed that OOSNCR1 and OOSNCR2 are oocyte-specific, with OOSNCR3 being highly abundant in the fetal ovary and detected at low levels in the spleen. Follicular cell expression revealed that all three lncRNAs were detected throughout the follicle. Further, all three lncRNAs were expressed highest in the oocyte, decreasing expression as the distance from the oocyte increased. Moreover, expression throughout oocyte maturation and early embryonic development revealed that OOSNCR1, OOSNCR2, and OOSNCR3 were highest during oocyte maturation, decreased at fertilization, and ceased altogether by the 16-cell stage. Collectively, the expression data suggested all three transcripts were maternal effect genes. Maternal origin was confirmed using an RNA polymerase II inhibitor, α-amanitin. The functional role of OOSNCR1, OOSNCR2, and OOSNCR3 during oocyte maturation and early embryonic development was evaluated using siRNA-mediated knockdown. Injection of the cumulus-enclosed germinal vesicle (GV) oocyte did not affect cumulus expansion; however, oocyte survival at 12 hours post-insemination was significantly reduced following the microinjection procedure. Additionally, lncRNA knockdown decreased the relative abundance of maternal effect genes NPM2, GDF9, BMP15, and JY-1 and resulted in blastocyst rates close to zero. Using siRNA-mediated knockdown in the presumptive zygote, the percentage of embryos reaching the blastocysts stage was decreased by roughly half for all three lncRNAs. The potential relationship between lncRNA expression and oocyte quality was investigated. In addition to OOSNCR1, OOSNCR2, and OOSNCR3, OOSNCR4 and OOSNCR5 were selected from the RNA sequencing dataset as highly abundant lncRNAs in bovine oocytes. All lncRNAs were quantified in oocytes of various qualities. Specifically, lncRNA expression was examined in oocytes (1) collected from small and large follicles before and after maturation, (2) differentially stained using brilliant cresyl blue (BCB), and (3) exposed to heat stress (410C) during oocyte maturation. Data revealed that OOSNCR1 and OOSNCR3 were accumulated during maturation, whereas OOSNCR2 and OOSNCR4 were degraded. Further, OOSNCR1, OOSNCR2, and OOSNCR4 were more abundant in oocytes collected from small follicles. Specifically, OOSNCR2 and OOSNCR4 were expressed highest in immature oocytes. Conversely, OOSNCR3 was more abundant in mature oocytes collected from large follicles. Following BCB staining, OOSNCR3 was expressed lower in BCB+ oocytes. Finally, maturation in a heat-stressed environment decreased cumulus cell expansion. Heat stress during maturation also caused OOSNCR1 to decrease expression, whereas OOSNCR3, OOSNCR4, and OOSNCR5 expression increased. Overall, the data herein revealed dynamic expression profiles of novel lncRNAs and suggests a functional requirement of OOSNCR1, OOSNCR2, and OOSNCR3 during bovine oocyte maturation and early embryogenesis

Lesson for America? England\u27s development areas

The work is a descriptive and comparative study of the British program for economically lagging regions of the country. The author\u27s special interest was local participation in the central Government activity. Secondary sources of information on local aspects were in short supply, and the writer relied upon interviews and unpublished documents obtained on a visit to England to supplement published material. His extensive experience in the American development program also was utilized. The study offers a classification of elements in the programs of the two countries and identifies comparable trends which have carried further in the British experience. The study of these trends can therefore be of use in evaluation of the direction and alternatives in the American approach. Dramatic unemployment in declining basic industries concentrated in Northern England, Scotland, and Wales resulted in pressure on the British Government to create jobs in depressed regions during the 1930’s. The author calls this the “Job Development Era.” The program feature was the creation of central Government trading estates, or industrial parks. Firms were\u27 encouraged to move to suffering regions by the provision of factory sites on advantageous terms, by loans and grants to finance expansion, by loans and grants to local government for needed public improvements, and by retraining programs to prepare indigenous workers to take new employment. The “Resource Development Era” followed in both countries. In the U. K. it featured the creation of regional development policies, establishment of new towns as favored sites for both industry and workers, resource development grants in the lagging regions, grants to reclaim derelict land, and especially the initiation of a national system of controls on the location of industry and large offices. The U. S. has not adopted location controls, but in other ways is currently in the Resource Development Era, in which a depressed region is treated as a whole, rather than concentrating program assistance on particularly severe unemployment pockets. The chief characteristic of the third and present British stage, the “Balanced Growth Era,” is recognition of the need to restructure regional economies in order to enable them to generate their own growth without further special assistance. Britain utilizes regional councils and government boards to plan the restructuring process, but only in the late 1960’s has major new financing supported implementation. Neither the resources nor the policy commitment has been made in the U. S. to attempt to alter the regional balance of the country. The author made several forecasts from his comparative study, chief among them being (1) that the U.S. will inevitably but reluctantly move into the “Balanced Growth” period in its programming, and (2) that industrial location controls will not be adopted in the Same way in the U. S. as in the U. K., but may come as environmental preservation measures. A key premise at the initiation of the study was that there must be some community and citizen participation in the British program, despite the paucity of printed information on these subjects. After a thorough search of the literature, and interviewing in England, the study did disclose an effective but little known role played by the local authorities. However, the author proved himself wrong in the supposition that the British citizenry and local community organizations have any noticeable impact on the program. In this way it is significantly different than the American experience