Naresuan University Journal
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Clinical evaluation of a novel microfluidic device for epitope-independent enrichment of circulating tumour cells in patients with small cell lung cancer.
No full textCirculating tumour cells (CTCs) have potential utility as minimally-invasive biomarkers to aid cancer treatment decision making. However, many current CTC technologies enrich CTCs using specific surface epitopes that do not necessarily reflect CTC heterogeneity. Here we evaluated the epitope-independent Parsortix system which enriches CTCs based on size and rigidity using both healthy normal volunteer blood samples spiked with tumour cells and blood samples from patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Blood samples were maintained unfractionated at room temperature for up to 4 days followed by plasma removal for circulating free DNA (cfDNA) isolation and direct application of the remaining cell component to the Parsortix system. For tumour cells expressing the EpCAM cell surface marker the numbers of spiked cells retained using the Parsortix system and by EpCAM-positive selection using CellSearch® were not significantly different, whereas only the Parsortix system showed strong enrichment of cells with undetectable EpCAM expression. In a pilot clinical study we banked both enriched CTCs as well as plasma from SCLC patient blood samples. Upon retrieval of the banked Parsortix cellular samples we could detect cytokeratin positive CTCs in all 12 SCLC patients tested. Interestingly, processing parallel samples from the same patients by EpCAM enrichment using CellSearch® revealed only 83% (10/12) with cytokeratin positive CTCs indicating the Parsortix system is enriching for EpCAM negative SCLC CTCs. Our combined results indicate the Parsortix system is a valuable tool for combined cfDNA isolation and CTC enrichment that enables CTC analysis to be extended beyond dependence on surface epitopes
'Nigeria Can Do WIthout Such Perverts':Sexual Anxiety and Political Crisis in Postcolonial Nigeria
No full textRecent political homophobia in Nigeria, including vigilante violence and repressive legislation, is often imagined to be a reaction to outside forces: religious movements like evangelical Christianity and reformist Islam or the spread of Western homosexual identities. This article suggests this is unlikely and that understanding recent patterns of homophobia requires understanding local cultures of same-sex practice and the anxieties underlying political attempts to regulate sexuality. The article also makes some preliminary suggestions for how such an account might be attempted by looking at long-standing contradictions in systems for evaluating sexual morality in northern Nigeria and how those might help inform recent discussions of sexual immorality
Carbon Stock of Teak Plantation in Subtropical Region of Lower Northern Thailand
Get PDF An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is a serious environmental concern. The objective of this study was to assess carbon sequestration by teak plantations with varying ages from 21 to 36 years old. 36-year-old teak plantation had highest total above and below ground carbon and soil organic carbon which were 45.6 tCha-1and 180 tCha-1, respectively. Teak plantation can help alleviate the problem of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.
Keywords: Carbon stock, Teak plantation, Aboveground carbon, Belowground carbon, Soil organic carbo
Effect of Annealing Temperature on Thermoelectric Properties of Flexible Bi2Te3 Thin Film Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering / อิทธิพลของอุณหภูมิที่อบต่อสมบัติทางเทอร์โมอิเล็กทริกของฟิล์มบางบิสมัสเทลลูไรด์ แบบบิดงอได้เตรียมโดยวิธีอาร์เอฟแมกนีตรอนสปัตเตอริง
No full textบทคัดย่อ งานวิจัยนี้ได้เตรียมฟิล์มบางบิสมัสเทลลูไรด์ (Bi2Te3) เคลือบลงบนวัตถุรองรับโพลีอิมมิด โดยใช้เทคนิคอาร์เอฟแมกนีตรอนสปัตเตอริง (RF magnetron sputtering) สมบัติเชิงโครงสร้างและสมบัติทางเทอร์โมอิเล็กทริกของฟิล์มถูกนำมาศึกษาภายใต้อุณหภูมิที่ใช้ในการอบ โดยนำฟิล์มบางบิสมัสเทลลูไรด์ที่ได้ไปอบที่อุณหภูมิแตกต่างกันตั้งแต่อุณหภูมิ 300, 350 และ 400 ºC ภายใต้ความดันบรรยากาศของก๊าซไนโตรเจนเป็นเวลา 1 ชั่วโมง โครงสร้างผลึกและโครงสร้างระดับจุลภาคของฟิล์มถูกนำมาวิเคราะห์ด้วยใช้เครื่องทดสอบการเลี้ยวเบนของรังสีเอกซ์ (XRD) และกล้องจุลทรรศน์อิเล็กตรอนแบบส่องกราดความละเอียดสูง (FESEM) ตามลำดับ ค่าสัมประสิทธิ์ซีเบคและค่าสภาพนำไฟฟ้าของฟิล์มถูกวัดตั้งแต่อุณหภูมิห้องถึง 150 ºC ด้วยเครื่องวัดค่าสัมประสิทธิ์ซีเบคและ ค่าสภาพนำไฟฟ้า (ZEM3) ผลการศึกษาพบว่าค่าสัมประสิทธิ์ซีเบคและค่าสภาพนำไฟฟ้าจะเพิ่มขึ้นเมื่ออุณหภูมิการอบเพิ่มขึ้น โดยการอบที่ 400 ºC จะมีค่าเพาเวอร์แฟกเตอร์สูงสุดคือ 1.41 x 10-3 W/m K2 วัดที่อุณหภูมิ 150 ºC คำสำคัญ: บิสมัสเทลลูไรด์ โพลีอิมมิด เทอร์โมอิเล็กทริก อาร์เอฟแมกนีตรอนสปัตเตอริง Abstract Bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) thermoelectric thin films were deposited on polyimide substrate by RF magnetron sputtering technique. The structural and thermoelectric properties of the films were investigated under the annealing temperatures. As-deposited films were annealed in the vacuum chamber with the N2 flow gases at three different temperatures of 300, 350, and 400 °C for 1 hour. The crystal structures and microscopy of the films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), respectively. Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity of the films were simultaneously measured at room temperature and up to 150 °C by dc four-terminal method (ZEM3). It was found that the Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity increased with increasing temperature. The film annealed at 400 °C has a maximum PF value of 1.41 x 10-3 W/m.K2 at the applied temperature of 150 °C. Keywords: Bismuth telluride, Polyimide, Thermoelectric, RF magnetron sputterin
Health and social care devolution: the Greater Manchester experiment
No full textAlthough we know that the aims of devolution are to improve health and reduce health inequalities, it is less clear how this will be achieved. Kieran Walshe and colleagues examine how it might work and the likely problem
The Golgin Family of Coiled-Coil Tethering Proteins.
No full textThe golgins are a family of predominantly coiled-coil proteins that are localized to the Golgi apparatus. Golgins are present in all eukaryotes, suggesting an evolutionary conserved function. Golgins are anchored to the Golgi membrane by their carboxy terminus and are predicted to adopt an extended conformation that projects into the surrounding cytoplasm. This arrangement is ideal for the capture or tethering of nearby membranes or cytoskeletal elements. Golgin-mediated tethering is thought to be important for vesicular traffic at the Golgi apparatus, the maintenance of Golgi architecture, as well as the positioning of the Golgi apparatus within cells. In addition to acting as tethers, some golgins can also sequester various factors at the Golgi membrane, allowing for the spatiotemporal regulation of downstream cellular functions. Although it is now established that golgins are membrane and cytoskeleton tethers, the mechanisms underlying tethering remain poorly defined. Moreover, the importance of golgin-mediated tethering in a physiological context remains to be fully explored. This review will describe our current understanding of golgin function, highlighting recent progress that has been made, and goes on to discuss outstanding questions and potential avenues for future research with regard to this family of conserved Golgi-associated proteins
Ru-Catalyzed C–H Arylation of Fluoroarenes with Aryl Halides
No full textAlthough the ruthenium-catalyzed C–H arylation of arenes bearing directing groups with haloarenes is well-known, this process has never been achieved in the absence of directing groups. We report the first example of such a process and show that unexpectedly the reaction only takes place in the presence of catalytic amounts of a benzoic acid. Furthermore, contrary to other transition metals, the arylation site selectivity is governed by both electronic and steric factors. Stoichiometric and NMR mechanistic studies support a catalytic cycle that involves a well-defined η6-arene-ligand-free Ru(II) catalyst. Indeed, upon initial pivalate-assisted C–H activation, the aryl-Ru(II) intermediate generated is able to react with an aryl bromide coupling partner only in the presence of a benzoate additive. In contrast, directing-group-containing substrates (such as 2-phenylpyridine) do not require a benzoate additive. Deuterium labeling and kinetic isotope effect experiments indicate that C–H activation is both reversible and kinetically significant. Computational studies support a concerted metalation–deprotonation (CMD)-type ruthenation mode and shed light on the unusual arylation regioselectivity