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Raman Spectroscopy In Nanomedicine: Current Status And Future Perspectives, Hugh Byrne, Mark Keating

Articles

Raman spectroscopy is a branch of vibration spectroscopy which is capable of probing the chemical composition of materials. Recent advances in Raman microscopy have added significantly to the range of applications which now extend from medical diagnostics to exploring interfaces between biological organisms and nanomaterials. In this review, Raman is introduced in a general context, highlighting some of the areas in which the technique has found success in the past, as well as some of the potential benefits it offers over other analytical modalities. The subset of Raman techniques which specifically probe the nanoscale, namely Surface Enhanced and Tip Enhanced …

Raman Micro Spectroscopy Study Of The Interaction Of Vincristine With A549 Cells Supported By Expression Analysis Of Bcl-2 Protein, Haq Nawaz, Amaya Garcia, Aidan Meade, Fiona Lyng, Hugh Byrne

Articles

Understanding the interaction of anticancer drugs with model cell lines is important to elucidate the mode of action of these drugs as well as to develop cost effective and rapid screening methods. Raman spectroscopy has been demonstrated to be a valuable technique for high throughput, noninvasive analysis. The interaction of vincristine with a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549)was investigated using Raman micro spectroscopy. The results were correlated with parallel measurements from the MTT cytotoxicity assay, which yielded an IC₅₀ value of 0.10 ± 0.03 μM. The Raman spectral data acquired from vincristine treated A549 cells was analysed to …

On The Predictive Analytics Of The Probit And Logit Link Functions, Necla Gunduz, Ernest Fokoue

Articles

Researchers and practitioners have long held that the probit and logit link functions generally yield the same performance in binary classification. Despite this widespread recognition of the strong similarities between these two link functions, very few (if any) researchers have dedicated time to carry out a formal study aimed at establishing and characterizing firmly all the aspects of the similarities and differences. This paper proposes a definition of both structural and predictive equivalence link functions-based binary regression models, and provides both a theoretical and computational justification of the long held claim that probit and logit are indeed very similar. From …

Dietary Quality In A Sample Of Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Ireland; A Cross-Sectional Case Control Study, A Murray, A Mc Morrow, E O Connor, C Kiely, Oscar Mac Ananey, D O'Shea, M Egana, F Lithander

Articles

BACKGROUND:

A number of dietary quality indices (DQIs) have been developed to assess the quality of dietary intake. Analysis of the intake of individual nutrients does not reflect the complexity of dietary behaviours and their association with health and disease. The aim of this study was to determine the dietary quality of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using a variety of validated DQIs.

METHODS:

In this cross-sectional analysis of 111 Caucasian adults, 65 cases with T2DM were recruited from the Diabetes Day Care Services of St. Columcille's and St. Vincent's Hospitals, Dublin, Ireland. Forty-six controls did not have …

Socio-Economic Differences In Food Group And Nutrient Intakes Among Young Women In Ireland, Daniel Mccartney, Katherine Younger, John Kearney

Articles

The present study aimed to investigate socio-economic disparities in food and nutrient intakes among young Irish women. A total of 221 disadvantaged and seventy-four non-disadvantaged women aged 18–35 years were recruited. Diet was assessed using a diet history protocol. Of the total population, 153 disadvantaged and sixty-three non-disadvantaged women were classified as plausible dietary reporters. Food group intakes, nutrient intakes and dietary vitamin and mineral concentrations per MJ of energy consumed were compared between the disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged populations, as was compliance with dietary fibre, macronutrient and micronutrient intake guidelines. The disadvantaged women had lower intakes than the non-disadvantaged women …

Comparison Between Gelatines Extracted From Mackerel And Blue Whiting Bones After Different Pre-Treatments, Catherine Barry-Ryan, Zied Khiari, Daniel Rico, Ana Belen Martin-Diana

Articles

Gelatines were extracted from mackerel and blue whiting bones after chemical or enzymatic pre-treatments and their functional properties (solubility, foaming and emulsifying properties) were analysed. The pre-treatment significantly (p

Line Up, Line Up: Using Technology To Align And Enhance Peer Learning And Assessment In A Student Centred Foundation Organic Chemistry Module., Barry Ryan

Articles

This paper describes how three technologies were utilised in combination to align student learning and assessment as part of a case study. Multiple choice questions (MCQs) were central to all these 10 technologies. The peer learning technologies; Personal Response Devices (a.k.a. Clickers) and PeerWise (http://peerwise.cs.auckland.ac.nz), were implemented to achieve scaffolded, self-directed independent learning by the students which aligned to the assessment methodology through creating, analysing, answering and discussing multiple choice questions. Personal response devices enhanced in-class activity involvement, whilst PeerWise provided structure and support for independent student learning through 15 defined outside class activities. An associated technology, online MCQs hosted …

Apoptosis Is Signalled Early By Low Doses Of Ionizing Radiation In A Radiation-Induced Bystander Effect, Hayley Furlong, Carmel Mothersill, Fiona Lyng, Orla Howe

Articles

It is known that ionising radiation (IR) induces a complex signalling apoptotic cascade post-exposure to low doses ultimately to remove damaged cells from a population, specifically via the intrinsic pathway. Therefore, it was hypothesised that bystander reporter cells may initiate a similar apoptotic response if exposed to low doses of IR (0.05 Gy and 0.5 Gy) and compared to directly irradiated cells. Key apoptotic genes were selected according to their role in the apoptotic cascade; tumour suppressor gene TP53, pro-apoptotic Bax and anti-apoptotic Bcl2, pro-apoptotic JNK and anti-apoptotic ERK, initiator caspase 2 and 9 and effector caspase 3, 6 and …

Epigenetic Regulation Of Oxysterol Formation, Steve Meaney

Articles

Oxysterols are oxygenated derivatives of cholesterol that may be formed by either enzymatic or non-enzymatic mechanisms. Expression of the genes responsible oxysterol synthesis (GROS) is known to be restricted across different tissues and cell types. Regulation of the transcription of GROS and the activity of their enzyme transcripts has been the subject of intense activity for many years. Recent studies have sought to decipher the mechanism(s) that underpin the restricted expression of the GROS. Available data indicates that epigenetic mechanisms have an important role to play in the control of the expression of GROS. In the current review we summarize …

Obesity Is An Independent Predictor Of Breastfeeding Initiation When Socioeconomic Status Is Controlled For, Annemarie Bennett, Daniel Mccartney, John Kearney

Articles

Breastfeeding initiation rates vary across Europe, with rates as low as 56%(1) in Ireland and rates in excess of 90%(2) in the Nordic countries. A host of factors, including demographic, social, psychological and physical factors, influence the initiation, intensity and duration of breastfeeding. The extent to which modifiable factors influence breastfeeding initiation should be ascertained in order to prioritise support services for breastfeeding. Obesity is a known modifiable factor which inhibits breastfeeding initiation. This study aimed to determine the extent to which obesity inhibits breastfeeding initiation while controlling for socioeconomic status and other confounding factors. The Infant Cohort dataset from …

A Microfluidic Anti-Factor Xa Assay Device For Point-Of-Care Monitoring Of Anticoagulation Therapy, Leanne F. Harris, Paul Rainey, Vanessa Castro-Lopez, James S. O'Donnell, Anthony J. Killard

Articles

The development of new point-of-care coagulation assay devices is necessary due to the increasing number of patients requiring long-term anticoagulation in addition to the desire for appropriate, targeted anticoagulant therapy and a more rapid response to optimization of treatment. However, the majority of point-of-care devices currently available for hemostasis testing rely on clot-based endpoints which are variable and unreliable and are limited to measuring only certain portions of the coagulation pathway. There is a need for the introduction of point-of-care devices that can execute a broader range of tests; for example, the diagnosis of factor-specific diseases, as well as more …

Coagulation Monitoring Devices: Past, Present, And Future At The Point Of Care, Leanne F. Harris, Vanessa Castro-Lopez, Tony J. Killard

Articles

Automated technologies have revolutionised the monitoring of coagulation disorders in the central hospital laboratory setting, allowing for high throughput testing, improved accuracy and precision, accompanied by a marked reduction in human error. However, they still require trained operators and sample transportation. With the advent of point of care (POC) testing, the working principle of traditional coagulometers was used as the foundation for the development of miniaturised devices. A number of POC coagulation devices have been commercially available for many years now, allowing the patient to assume more control over the management of their own medication, e.g. warfarin. While POC devices …

When The Human Factor Is At The Core Of The Safety Barrier, Maria Chiara Leva, Catalina Bermudez Angel, Emmanuel Plot, Marco Gattuso

Articles

There are situation in the industry where the human actions are the main safety barriers to abnormal or accidental conditions. In order to maximize the reliability of good human and organizational barriers we need to ensure that the action-plans generated are based on a valid risk assessment of the situation to be addressed and informed by a relevant human factor analysis. This implies that the process needs to be participatory in nature, thus involving end user all the way through. In this paper we present a study in which a critical scenario of vessel overpressure was analyzed using a bowtie. …

Synthesis And Biochemical Activities Of Antiproliferative Amino Acid And Phosphate Derivatives Of Microtubule-Disrupting Beta-Lactam Combretastatins, Niamh M. O'Boyle, Lisa M. Greene, Niall O. Keely, Shu Wang, Tadhg S. Cotter, Daniela M. Zisterer, Mary J. Meegan

Articles

The synthesis and biochemical activities of novel water-soluble β-lactam analogues of combretastatin A-4 are described. The first series of compounds investigated, β-lactam phosphate esters 7a, 8a and 9a, exhibited potent antiproliferative activity and caused microtubule disruption in human breast carcinoma-derived MCF-7 cells. They did not inhibit tubulin polymerisation in vitro, indicating that biotransformation was necessary for their antiproliferative and tubulin binding effects in MCF-7 cells. The second series of compounds, β-lactam amino acid amides (including 10k and 11l) displayed potent antiproliferative activity in MCF-7 cells, disrupted microtubules in MCF-7 cells and also inhibited the polymerisation of …

Novel Cis-Restricted Β-Lactam Combretastatin A-4 Analogues Display Anti-Vascular And Anti-Metastatic Properties In Vitro, Seema M. Nathwani, Lisa M. Greene, Linda Hughes, Miriam Carr, Niamh O'Boyle, Susan Mcdonnell, Mary J. Meegan, Daniela M. Zisterer

Articles

No abstract provided.

One Step Quick Detection Of Cancer Cell Surface Marker By Integrated Nife-Based Magnetic Biosensing Cell Cultural Chip, Chenchen Bao, Lei Chen, Tao Wang, Daxiang Cui, Chong Lei, Yong Zhou, Furong Tian

Articles

RGD peptides has been used to detect cell surface integrin and direct clinical effective therapeutic drug selection. Herein we report that a quick one step detection of cell surface marker that was realized by a specially designed NiFe-based magnetic biosensing cell chip combined with functionalized magnetic nanoparti- cles. Magnetic nanoparticles with 20-30 nm in diameter were prepared by coprecipitation and modified with RGD-4C, and the resultant RGD-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles were used for targeting cancer cells cul- tured on the NiFe-based magnetic biosensing chip and distinguish the amount of cell surface receptor-integrin. Cell lines such as Calu3, Hela, A549, CaFbr, HEK293 …

Success And Backlash: The Remarkable (Continuing) Story Of The Clean Water Act, William L. Andreen

Articles

The Clean Water Act has produced a tremendous amount of progress over the past forty years Both municipal and industrial discharges have declined sharply the loss of wetlands has been cut decisively and water quality has broadly improved Much more work however remains to be done Not surprisingly given the limits of human forethought and political capacity the original statutory design was not perfect Furthermore the statutes implementation has not been perfect due in large part to often straitened budgets instances of bureaucratic timidity and lethargy and the hostility that some administrations and some Congresses have exhibited towards strong environmental …

Dual-Band Omnidirectional Circularly Polarized Antenna, Adam Narbudowicz, Xiulong Bao, Max Ammann

Articles

A dual-band omnidirectional circularly polarized antenna is proposed. The antenna comprises back-to-back microstrip patches fed by a coplanar waveguide. A very low frequency ratio of 1.182 has been achieved, which can be easily tuned by adjusting four lumped capacitors incorporated into the antenna. An analysis of the omnidirectional circular polarization mechanism as well the dual band operation is provided and confirmed by numerical and experimental data. Key parameters to tune the resonant frequencies and the axial ratio have been identified. The prototype antenna provides omnidirectional circular polarization in one plane with cross polar isolation better than 12 dB for both …

Appraisal Theory: Old And New Questions, Phoebe C. Ellsworth

Articles

I describe my current thinking on two old questions—the causal role of appraisals and the relationship of appraisal theories to basic emotions theories and constructivist theories, and three (sort of) new questions—the completeness of appraisals, the role of language, and the development of automaticity in emotional responses.

Law's Violence: Derrick Bell's Next Article Challenging Authority: A Symposium Honoring Derrick Bell, Richard Delgado

Articles

No abstract provided.

Online Reading Informs Classroom Instruction And Promotes Collaborative Learning, Leslie Kate Wright, Sacha Zyto, David R. Karger, Dina L. Newman

Articles

Web-based collaborative annotation tools can facilitate communication among students and their instructors through online reading and communication. Collaborative reading fosters peer interaction and is an innovative way to facilitate discussion and participation in larger enrollment courses. It can be especially powerful as it creates an environment where all students are able to ask questions and contribute to a discussion about science. An online annotation tool, Nota Bene (NB), was tested in two biology courses: intermediate-level Molecular Biology (89 students) and upper level Cancer Biology (26 students). Student participation in these graded reading assignments ranged from 79% to 93%. A typical …

Mothers Who Formula Feed: Their Practices, Support Needs And Factors Influencing Their Infant Feeding Decision., Roslyn Tarrant, Margaret Sheridan-Pereira, Roberta A. Mccarthy, Katherine M. Younger, John M. Kearney

Articles

The majority of mothers in Ireland provide formula milk to their infants during the initial weeks postpartum; however, data are lacking on their formula feeding practices and support needs. This prospective Dublin-based observational study, which included 450 eligible mother-term infant pairs recruited and followed up to 6 months postpartum, aimed to advance our understanding of maternal formula feeding practices, their reasons for deciding to formula feed, sources of feeding information and perceived support needs; insights into infant formula milk consumption patterns in relation to current feeding guidelines are also provided. In summary, the vast majority of infants at 6 weeks …

A Walk Down The Red Carpet: Students As Producers Of Digital Video-Based Knowledge., Barry Ryan

Articles

Disengaged and apathetic students are common in many undergraduate classrooms. Learning to these students is a passive process, typified by a consumer-like attitude. One approach to engage students, and enhance the learning experience, is to integrate active learning into the curriculum. The purpose of the pedagogical evaluative study described here was to investigate if student researched, designed and created digital video could act as a viable reusable peer learning resource. Although the use and integration of technology was central to the scope of this project, other ideas such as threshold concepts, the requirement for both active and authentic social constructivist …

Gender And New Wars, Christine M. Chinkin, Mary Kaldor

Articles

War plays an important role in the construction of gender, or the social roles of men and women. This article analyzes the gendered experience of what Kaldor calls "new wars." It shows that new wars are largely fought by men in the name of a political identity that usually has a significant gender dimension. They use tactics that involve deliberate attacks on civilians, including systematic rape as a weapon of war, and are financed by predatory economic activities that tend to affect women more than men. The article describes the ways in which laws relating to gendered violence have been …

Imagining A Same-Sex Marriage Decision Based On Dignity: Considering Human Experience In Constitutional Law, Danieli Evans

Articles

California’s Proposition 8 allows same sex couples to join through civil unions, which grant the legal benefits afforded to married couples but denies them the official label of “marriage.” The lower court eschewed the question of whether Proposition 8 burdens any fundamental right by concluding there is not even a rational basis (the minimum standard for the constitutionality of any law) for this law, as its sole effect is to deny same sex couples the designation of marriage.

We appreciate the lower court’s caution not to extend our fundamentalrights jurisprudence beyond precedent. However, we are positioned to elaborate fundamental constitutional …

Against Notice Skepticism In Privacy (And Elsewhere), M. Ryan Calo

Articles

What follows is an exploration of innovative new ways to deliver privacy notice. Unlike traditional notice that relies upon text or symbols to convey information, emerging strategies of “visceral” notice leverage a consumer’s very experience of a product or service to warn or inform. A regulation might require that a cell phone camera make a shutter sound so people know their photo is being taken. Or a law could incentivize websites to be more formal (as opposed to casual) wherever they collect personal information, as formality tends to place people on greater guard about what they disclose. The thesis of …

Only Part Of The Picture: A Response To Professor Tushnet's Worth A Thousand Words, Zahr Kassim Said

Articles

Professor Rebecca Tushnet’s recent article Worth a Thousand Words: The Image of Copyright elucidates a number of difficulties in copyright that flow from judicial failures to treat images consistently and rigorously. She argues that courts both assess copyrightability and evaluate potential infringement in ways that rely on a naïve understanding of the way artists create, and indeed, the way viewers receive works of art. The problem is particularly pronounced with respect to what Tushnet calls non-textual works because copyright law’s default to textuality means that the tools and methods that judges use misalign with the objects of their examination.

In …

Ecotoxicological Assessment Of Silica And Polystyrene Nanoparticles Assessed By A Multitrophic Test Battery, Maria Casado-Gavalda, Ailbhe Macken, Hugh Byrne

Articles

The acute ecotoxicity of different diameters of silica and polyethyleneimine polystyrene (PS-PEI)nanoparticles (NPs)was assessed on a test battery of aquatic organisms representing different trophic levels. Daphnia magna, Thamnocephalus platyurus, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Vibrio fischeri, were employed in a series of standard acute ecotoxicity tests and work was complemented with two cytotoxicological end points on a rainbow trout gonadal cell line (RTG-2). Physico-chemical characterization of the NPs was performed in the different test media employed, using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potentiometry. In contrast to silica NPs exposure, for which no effect was observed for concentrations up …

Pulmonary Dwcnt Exposure Causes Sustained Local And Low-Level Systemic Inflammatory Changes In Mice, Furong Tian, Junja C. Habel-Ungewitter, Yin Renfu, Tobias Stoger

Articles

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent promising vectors to facilitate cellular drug delivery and to overcome biological barriers, but some types may also elicit persistent pulmonary inflammation based on their fibre characteristics. Here, we show the pulmonary response to aqueous suspensions of block copolymer dispersed, double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNT, length 1–10 lm) in mice by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) analysis, and BAL and blood cytokine and lung antioxidant profiling. The intratracheally instilled dose of 50 lg DWCNT caused significant pulmonary inflammation that was not resolved during a 7- day observation period. Light microscopy investigation of the uptake of DWCNT agglomerates revealed no particle …

Effect Of Delactosed Whey Permeat Treatment On Physiochemical, Sensorial, Nutritional And Microbial Properties Of Whole Tomatoes During Postharvest Storage., Lubna Ahmed, Ana Belen Martin-Diana, Daniel Rico, Catherine Barry-Ryan

Articles

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of delactosed whey permeate (DWP) treatment on the physico-chemical, microbial and antioxidant compounds of tomatoes stored at 15 °C for 21 days compared with traditional chlorine treatment. Fresh tomatoes were treated with 3 ml/100ml DWP or 120 mg/L chlorine solutions and packed in perforated polypropylene bags. The results showed that DWP treatment significantly reduced the number of total aerobic counts (~1.62 log cfu/g) and yeast and moulds (~1.66 log cfu/g) of tomatoes compared to chlorine during storage. Moreover, the tomatoes treated by DWP remained firmer (22 %) than the control …