Publications by authors named "Shortt R"

Covalent labeling methods coupled to mass spectrometry have emerged in recent years for studying the higher order structure of proteins. Quantifying the extent of modification of proteins in multiple states (i.e.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Many cancer drugs fail at treating solid epithelial tumors with hypoxia and insufficient drug penetration thought to be contributing factors to the observed chemoresistance. Owing to this, it is imperative to evaluate potential cancer drugs in conditions as close to as possible, which is not always done. To address this, we developed a mass spectrometry-based protein footprinting method for exploring the impact of hypoxia on protein in 3D colorectal cancer cells.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The role of coastal mangrove wetlands in sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO ) and mitigating climate change has received increasing attention in recent years. While recent studies have shown that methane (CH ) emissions can potentially offset the carbon burial rates in low-salinity coastal wetlands, there is hitherto a paucity of direct and year-round measurements of ecosystem-scale CH flux (F ) from mangrove ecosystems. In this study, we examined the temporal variations and biophysical drivers of ecosystem-scale F in a subtropical estuarine mangrove wetland based on 3 years of eddy covariance measurements.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Within the past decade protein footprinting in conjunction with mass spectrometry has become a powerful and versatile means to unravel the higher order structure of proteins. Footprinting-based approaches has demonstrated the capacity to inform on interaction sites and dynamic regions that participate in conformational changes. These findings when set in a biological perspective inform on protein folding/unfolding, protein-protein interactions, and protein-ligand interactions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Constructed wetlands built for water treatment often need biomass harvesting to remove nutrients from the system. Usually harvesting is done during the peak growing season to maximize the amount of nutrients removed from the system. This, however, can create huge methane fluxes that escape from plant tissues to the atmosphere.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The use of indium tin oxide (ITO) and focused monomode microwave heating for the ultra-rapid crystallization of L-alanine (a model amino acid) is reported. Commercially available ITO dots (< 5 mm) attached to blank poly(methyl)methacrylate (PMMA, 5 cm in diameter with 21-well silicon isolators: referred to as the iCrystal plates) were found to withstand prolonged microwave heating during crystallization experiments. Crystallization of L-alanine was performed at room temperature (a control experiment), with the use of two microwave sources: a 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Gout is caused by the overproduction of uric acid and the inefficient metabolism of dietary purines in humans. Current treatments of gout, which include anti-inflammatory drugs, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, and systemic glucocorticoids, have harmful side-effects. Our research laboratory has recently introduced an innovative approach for the decrystallization of biological and chemical crystals using the Metal-Assisted and Microwave-Accelerated Evaporative Decrystallization (MAMAD) technique.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Breast reduction surgery is a very common procedure; however, there is still no consensus as to whether antibiotics should be used perioperatively.

Objective: To review the world literature and perform a meta-analysis of studies comparing wound infection rates with antibiotic use in breast reduction surgery.

Methods: A literature search was performed using the MEDLINE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Cochrane Database of Clinical Trials, Embase and CINAHL databases.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Purpose: Various antibiotics are available to treat soft-tissue infections. However, it is unclear if the empirical antibiotic is always appropriate or the most economical.

Objective: To determine the percentage of empirically treated wounds susceptible to the antibiotic therapy prescribed, and to determine the percentage of wounds treated with the most economical antibiotic therapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Four different water sources (irrigation canals, small reservoirs, shallow wells, and tubewells), used for domestic purposes, in an irrigated area in southern Sri Lanka, were tested for Giardia spp. cysts and Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

There are many causes of ventricular arrhythmias in pediatric patients, even those with structurally normal hearts. However, in young patients with 'normal' hearts, sustained ventricular arrhythmias are relatively rare. The primary concern of the physician is to identify which patients have benign ventricular arrhythmia patterns and which are at risk for sudden cardiac death.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) has been proposed as a beneficial therapy for toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). However, this has been based on a limited amount of Class 5 evidence. To compare outcomes in TEN patients treated in our burn unit since 1999, when we began to use IVIG (IG group), with TEN patients treated between 1995 and 1999 who did not receive IVIG (control group).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

When drinkers attempted to reproduce a particular drug state, the average difference between the two blood alcohol concentrations was 0.013%.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF