mutant small cell glioblastoma in a patient with Gorlin syndrome: A case report.

Gorlin syndrome or nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome is a rare genetic disease characterized by predisposition to congenital defects, basal cell carcinomas and medulloblastoma. The syndrome results from a heritable mutation in (), causing constitutive activation of the Hedgehog pathway. The present study described a patient with Gorlin syndrome who presented early in life with characteristic basal cell carcinomas and later developed a small cell glioblastoma (GBM), World Health Organization grade IV, associated with a Patched 1 () mutation.

Reversed phase HPLC with high temperature ethanol/water mobile phases as a green alternative method for the estimation of octanol/water partition coefficients.

High temperature ethanol/water was explored as a green eluent in the reversed-phase liquid chromatographic approximation of pure water retention (log k) and subsequent estimation of the octanol/water partition coefficient (log P) via the Collander equation and the Leave-One-Out method. As part of this work, linear solvation energy relationships were employed to compare the log k extrapolated systems based on high temperature ethanol/water, ambient acetonitrile/water, and ambient methanol/water mobile phases. Based on the comparisons of the three organic modifiers, high temperature ethanol/water mobile phases were observed to provide the best estimation of log P.

The prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in waters of the Lower Ballona Creek Watershed, Los Angeles County, California.

Screening for the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) was done at the Ballona Creek and Wetlands, an urban-impacted wetland system in Los Angeles, California. The goals were (1) to assess the overall prevalence of ARB, and (2) compare differences in ARB abundance and the types of antibiotic resistance (AR) among the following sample types: lagoon water from Del Rey Lagoon, urban runoff from Ballona Creek, and water from the Ballona Wetlands (tidal water flooding in from the adjacent estuary, and ebbing out from the salt marsh). Antibiotic resistance distributions were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to develop the cumulative frequency of bacteria having resistance of up to eight antibiotics.

Characterization of the polarity of subcritical water.

The polarity of subcritical water was studied solvatochromically with betaine dye (33) across a temperature range of 30°C-180°C and a pressure range of 13.8bar (200psi) to 124bar (1800psi). It was observed that temperature has a greater effect than pressure on the polarity of subcritical water.

Stratification and loading of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in a tidally muted urban salt marsh.

Stratification and loading of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were assessed in the main tidal channel of the Ballona Wetlands, an urban salt marsh receiving muted tidal flows, to (1) determine FIB concentration versus loading within the water column at differing tidal flows, (2) identify associations of FIB with other water quality parameters, and (3) compare wetland FIB concentrations to the adjacent estuary. Sampling was conducted four times during spring-tide events; samples were analyzed for FIB and turbidity (NTU) four times over a tidal cycle at pre-allocated depths, depending on the water level. Additional water quality parameters measured included temperature, salinity, oxygen, and pH.

Metals and bacteria partitioning to various size particles in Ballona Creek storm water runoff.

Many storm water best management practice (BMP) devices function primarily by capturing particulate matter to take advantage of the well-documented association between storm water particles and pollutants. The hydrodynamic separation or settling methods used by most BMP devices are most effective at capturing medium to large particles; however, these may not be the most predominant particles associated with urban runoff. The present study examined particle size distribution in storm water runoff from an urban watershed in southern California and investigated the pollutant-particle associations of metals (Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn) and bacteria (enterococci and Escherichia coli).

An assessment of fecal indicator and other bacteria from an urbanized coastal lagoon in the City of Los Angeles, California, USA.

A study was performed in Del Rey Lagoon, City of Los Angeles, to determine if the lagoon was as a source or sink for fecal indicator bacteria (FIB: total coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci) and to screen for the presence of other potentially pathogenic bacteria. The lagoon receives tidal flows from the adjacent Ballona Estuary whose water usually is contaminated with FIB originating from the highly urbanized Ballona Creek Watershed. During 16 sampling events from February 2008 through March 2009, replicate water samples (n = 3) were collected 1 h prior to the high tide and 1 h prior to the following low tide.

Quantifying injection solvent effects in reversed-phase liquid chromatography.

Peak distortion due to the injection was measured as a function of injection solvent strength, volume, mass, retention factor, and column selectivity. The concept of a method's sensitivity (s) to injection solvent strength was mathematically defined as a vector of theoretical plate counts compared to an ideal vector that does not change with injection solvent strength. Near ideal sensitivity (s>0.

Effect of trimethylsilane pre-capping on monomeric C18 stationary phases made from high-purity type-B silica substrates: efficiency, retention, and stability.

Silica-based monomeric C18 stationary phases are the most widely used in reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC), and methods to improve the efficiency and chemical stability of such phases are always being investigated. Previous work showed that stationary phases made by pre-treating the silica surface with small amounts of trimethylsilane (TMS) reagents prior to C18 silanization showed vast improvements in the chromatographic efficiencies of both polar and non-polar analytes. It was concluded that this "pre-capping" step improved efficiency by selectively neutralizing the most reactive highly acidic silanol sites, producing a more energetically homogenous surface prior to exhaustive derivatization that subsequently yielded a more evenly distributed alkyl bonding arrangement.

Reequilibration time of superficially porous silica based columns in gradient elution reversed phase liquid chromatography.

Between repetitive analyses using gradient elution liquid chromatography the column must be reequilibrated to the initial conditions, extending run times. We studied the reequilibration time of three superficially porous silica columns compared to one fully porous silica column on a chromatograph with a reduced flush-out volume. Post-gradient acetone injections made at the interface of the pure organic-highly aqueous phase show anomalous, pressure-related band focusing, and increased retention compared to injections on either side of the interface.

Properties of subcritical water as an eluent for reversed-phase liquid chromatography--disruption of the hydrogen-bond network at elevated temperature and its consequences.

The use of subcritical water as an eluent for reversed-phase liquid chromatography is further explored. Shape selectivity as well as thermodynamic values for solute transfer were measured and compared to those seen with traditional ambient methanol/water and acetonitrile/water mobile phases. Linear solvation energy analysis was also used to analyze extrapolated values of the retention factor in pure water at ambient temperatures (k'w) for subcritical water and ambient hydroorganic mobile phases.

Reduction of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in the Ballona Wetlands saltwater marsh (Los Angeles County, California, USA) with implications for restoration actions.

A benefit of wetland preservation and restoration is the ecosystem service of improving water quality, typically assessed based on bacterial loading. The Ballona Wetlands, a degraded salt marsh of approximately 100 ac located on the southern border of Marina Del Rey (Los Angeles County, California, USA) are currently the focus of publicly funded restoration planning. The wetlands receive tidal water, usually contaminated with fecal indicator bacteria (FIB: total and fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, enterococci) from the adjacent Ballona Creek and Estuary.

The evolution of complex biomaterial performance: The case of spider silk.

Spider silk is a high-performance biomaterial with exceptional mechanical properties and over half a century of research into its mechanics, structure, and biology. Recent research demonstrates that it is a highly variable class of materials that differs across species and individuals in complex and interesting ways. Here, we review recent literature on mechanical variation and evolution in spider silk.

Improving water quality through California's Clean Beach Initiative: an assessment of 17 projects.

California's Clean Beach Initiative (CBI) funds projects to reduce loads of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) impacting beaches, thus providing an opportunity to judge the effectiveness of various CBI water pollution control strategies. Seventeen initial projects were selected for assessment to determine their effectiveness on reducing FIB in the receiving waters along beaches nearest to the projects. Control strategies included low-flow diversions, sterilization facilities, sewer improvements, pier best management practices (BMPs), vegetative swales, and enclosed beach BMPs.

Retention mechanisms in subcritical water reversed-phase chromatography.

Differences in the properties of subcritical water and conventional water/acetonitrile and water/methanol mobile phases for reversed phase separations are explored. Using van't Hoff plots enthalpies and entropies of transfer are compared among the mobile phases while linear solvation energy relationships are used to quantify contributions to retention based on a solute's polarizability, dipolarity, hydrogen bond donating ability, hydrogen bond accepting ability, and molecular size. Results suggest the presence of acetonitrile or methanol in the mobile phase may decrease dispersive interactions of the solute with the stationary phase compared to subcritical water, thereby lowering enthalpic contributions to retention.

Modeling chromatographic dispersion: a comparison of popular equations.

An analyte that is introduced onto a column as a finite band broadens as it moves along the column. This band-broadening is generally attributed to three independent processes, including flow path inequalities, molecular diffusion, and resistance to mass transfer. Many equations have been derived in attempts to mathematically model the process.

Bacteriological water quality along the Tijuana-Ensenada, Baja California, México shoreline.

This survey was part of a Binational Program (Mexico-United States) in microbiological water quality, with a goal to assess the shoreline bacteriological water quality from Tijuana to Ensenada, Mexico. Samples were collected at 29 sites (19 beaches and 10 outfalls), from the United States border to Punta Banda, Baja California, during summer (1998) and winter (1999). Total coliforms, fecal coliforms and enterococci were used as bacterial indicators.

Linear voltage profiles and flow homogeneity in pressurized planar electrochromatography.

Planar electrochromatography (PEC) is an emerging technique for thin-layer chromatography (TLC) where electroosmosis is the driving force for the solvent, not capillary action. This allows for much faster and constant flow rates in turn yielding increased zone capacities and efficiencies. Instrumental designs have changed greatly over the last few years solving many of the initial instrumentation challenges.