Generation of Lung Adenocarcinoma DNA Aptamers for Cancer Studies

Lung cancer is the most lethal malignancy in the world, and each year thousands of people die from this disease. Early detection has proven to increase the 5-year survival for this cancer in general, independent of the origination site in the lung. To address this challenge, we have used cell-based SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment) to select a panel of aptamers capable of distinguishing lung adenocarcinoma cells from normal lung epithelial cells. These aptamers bind at physiological and formalin-fixed conditions and display affinity for their targets with apparent K_d''s in the nanomolar range. Our findings suggest that the selected aptamers have the potential to be used in clinical settings, as well as to improve classification of nonsurgical specimens, another current challenge in lung cancer.     

Application of life cycle assessment in the mining industry

Background, aim, and scope  

In spite of the increasing application of life cycle assessment (LCA) for engineering evaluation of systems and products, the application of LCA in the mining industry is limited. For example, a search in the Engineering Compendex database using the keywords “life cycle assessment” results in 2,257 results, but only 19 are related to the mining industry. Also, mining companies are increasingly adopting ISO 14001 certified environmental management systems (EMSs). A key requirement of ISO certified EMSs is continual improvement, which can be better managed with life cycle thinking. This paper presents a review of the current application of LCA in the mining industry. It discusses the current application, the issues, and challenges and makes relevant recommendations for new research to improve the current situation.     

A Synthetic Aptamer-Drug Adduct for Targeted Liver Cancer Therapy

AS1411 (previously known as AGRO100) is a 26 nucleotide guanine-rich DNA aptamer which forms a guanine quadruplex structure. AS1411 has shown promising utility as a treatment for cancers in Phase I and Phase II clinical trials without causing major side-effects. AS1411 inhibits tumor cell growth by binding to nucleolin which is aberrantly expressed on the cell membrane of many tumors. In this study, we utilized a simple technique to conjugate a widely-used chemotherapeutic agent, doxorubicin (Dox), to AS1411 to form a synthetic Drug-DNA Adduct (DDA), termed as AS1411-Dox. We demonstrate the utility of AS1411-Dox in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by evaluating the targeted delivery of Dox to Huh7 cells in vitro and in a murine xenograft model of HCC.     

Changes in the area of optimal tree cover of a declining Afro-Palaearctic migrant across the species’ wintering range

Land use change in sub-Saharan Africa continues apace, but its role in driving the declines of Afro-Palaearctic migrant birds is unknown. This is due partly to a lack of knowledge of migrants’ requirements on the wintering grounds, and of spatially explicit assessments of land cover change. We compared tree cover data derived from satellite remote sensing (available for the period 2000–2014) with distributional data from surveys in four West African countries for the Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix, one such declining migrant, to determine the extent of, and change in, optimal tree cover. Wood Warblers were most likely to occur where tree cover per hectare was between 40 and 61% (optimal tree cover). Extrapolation to the whole of the wintering range indicated there was a 46.7% net increase in extent between 2000 and 2014. This was due to an alarming 27 683 km² of previously closed forest being degraded from > 61% cover to between 40 and 61%, an area greater than that of the optimal tree cover that was lost. Increases in optimal tree cover were greatest in countries with greatest forest cover, such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and Democratic Republic of Congo. The results suggest that loss of optimal tree cover in the wintering range might not be a key driver of population decline for Wood Warblers, but the degradation will probably impact species that rely upon dense tree cover.     

Dissociation of immune responses from pathogen colonization supports pattern recognition in C. elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans has been used for over a decade to characterize signaling cascades controlling innate immune responses. However, what initiates these responses in the worm has remained elusive. To gain a better understanding of the initiating events we delineated genome-wide immune responses to the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa in worms heavily-colonized by the pathogen versus worms visibly not colonized. We found that infection responses in both groups were identical, suggesting that immune responses were not correlated with colonization and its associated damage. Quantitative RT-PCR measurements further showed that pathogen secreted factors were not able to induce an immune response, but exposure to a non-pathogenic Pseudomonas species was. These findings raise the possibility that the C.elegans immune response is initiated by recognition of microbe-associated molecular patterns. In the absence of orthologs of known pattern recognition receptors, C. elegans may rely on novel mechanisms, thus holding the potential to advance our understanding of evolutionarily conserved strategies for pathogen recognition.     

Factors Influencing Health Facility Delivery in Predominantly Rural Communities across the Three Ecological Zones in Ghana: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

Maternal and neonatal mortality indicators remain high in Ghana and other sub-Saharan African countries. Both maternal and neonatal health outcomes improve when skilled personnel provide delivery services within health facilities. Determinants of delivery location are crucial to promoting health facility deliveries, but little research has been done on this issue in Ghana. This study explored factors influencing delivery location in predominantly rural communities in Ghana.

Methods

Data were collected from 1,500 women aged 15–49 years with live or stillbirths that occurred between January 2011 and April 2013. This was done within the three sites operating Health and Demographic Surveillance Systems, i.e., the Dodowa (Greater Accra Region), Kintampo (Brong Ahafo Region), and Navrongo (Upper-East Region) Health Research Centers in Ghana. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the determinants of delivery location, controlling for covariates that were statistically significant in univariable regression models.

Results

Of 1,497 women included in the analysis, 75.6% of them selected health facilities as their delivery location. After adjusting for confounders, the following factors were associated with health facility delivery across all three sites: healthcare provider’s influence on deciding health facility delivery, (AOR = 13.47; 95% CI 5.96–30.48), place of residence (AOR = 4.49; 95% CI 1.14–17.68), possession of a valid health insurance card (AOR = 1.90; 95% CI 1.29–2.81), and socio-economic status measured by wealth quintiles (AOR = 2.83; 95% CI 1.43–5.60).

Conclusion

In addition to known factors such as place of residence, socio-economic status, and possession of valid health insurance, this study identified one more factor associated with health facility delivery: healthcare provider’s influence. Ensuring care provider’s counseling of clients could improve the uptake of health facility delivery in rural communities in Ghana.     

Prenatal diagnosis of sickle hemoglobinopathies: The experience of the Columbia university comprehensive center for sickle cell disease

We report here an evaluation of 55 pregnancies at risk for a sickle hemoglobinopathy prenatally diagnosed by restriction-endonuclease analysis, with the endonucleases MstII and HpaI, of amniocyte DNA. The diagnosis was completed in all cases. Eleven fetuses were predicted to be affected, of which six were terminated. Forty-one of the 55 cases were confirmed. One false-negative was reported in a case predicted to be hemoglobin AS but that was determined to be hemoglobin SS at birth. We estimate that the 55 cases represent only 5% of the pregnancies at risk for a sickle hemoglobinopathy in the New York metropolitan area during the study period. We conclude that the prenatal diagnosis of sickle hemoglobinopathies by molecular methods is reliable. However, the efficiency of utilization and effectiveness of prenatal testing is dependent on the early prospective identification of couples at risk and on the education of communities concerning the significant morbidity of the sickle hemoglobinopathies and the reproductive choices now available to them.