Penny J. Gilmer

Organic modifiers in the anion-exchange chromatographic separation of sialic acids

Abstract The combined effects of the organic modifiers and the ionic strength in the eluent on the separation of sialic acids were investigated on an anion-exchange Mono Q HR5/5 column. A log-log plot of capacity factors of sialic acids vs . eluent anion concentration demonstrates good linearity. The major retention mechanism is explained as anion exchange. Moreover, the plot of capacity factors of sialic acids vs . reciprocal of eluent anion concentration indicates that other retention mechanisms exist in addition to anion exchange. The organic modifiers (methanol and acetonitrile) in the mobile phase have significant influence on the retention time and resolution. The eluent anion concentration and the fraction of organic modifier produce a very flexible system that can be optimized for the separation of sialic acids. Five standard sialic acid derivatives have been separated by choosing a suitable eluent anion concentration and the fraction of organic modifier. The optimized conditions have been applied to separate sialic acids released from bovine submandibular mucin. 5,9-Diacetylneuraminic acid (Neu5,9Ac 2 ) can be separated from N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) and N-glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) but is overlapped with other peaks. Neu5Ac and Neu5Gc are completely separated.

Irène Joliot-Curie, a Nobel Laureate inArtificial Radioactivity

This chapter provides a biographical profile of Irene Joliot-Curie, the daughter of Nobel laureates Marie and Pierre Curie, and details of her personal life and professional accomplishments. Growing up with internationally renowned parents, Irene led a life marked by both expectations and obligations. Irene, like her mother, chose to marry a scientist, Frederic Joliot, with whom she would collaborate successfully (leading eventually to a joint Nobel Prize in Chemistry) and have two children, both of whom would become part of the next generation of scientists. Even with all of her successes, the difficulties of being a woman in the sciences affected Irene, as they had her mother. Denied memberships and honors given to men with equal successes, both Marie and Irene fought for their place, respectability and research opportunities.

Modulation of the Recognition and Lysis of EL4 Tumor Target Cells by Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes

When the EL4 targets were harvested from the peritoneal cavity (in vivo), they had less than half as much cell-surface sialic acid as EL4 cells harvested from tissue culture (in vitro), apparently due to the presence of a neuraminidase activity in the peritoneal cavity. Both the recognition and the lysis of either EL4 in vivo or EL4 in vitro target cells by allogeneically primed cytotoxic T lymphocytes were enhanced upon removal of cell-surface sialic acid by neuraminidase treatment. However, even after neuraminidase treatment, there still remained a difference in the lytic profile when using EL4 targets that were harvested in vivo versus in vitro. Both conjugate formation between the target and the T cells and anti-H-2Db adsorption by the target cells were unaffected by the culture conditions of the target line. However, antibody-induced capping and exocytosis of vesicles differed between the differently cultured target cells, suggesting that there was a membrane organizational difference between them that was detected by the cytotoxic T cells. These data are consistent with the idea that cell surface sialic acid as well as the membrane organization can influence T-cell recognition and lysis of target cells.

Deciding to Collaborate and Selecting our STEM Project

In 2001, the National Science Foundation (NSF) established a new awards program (

Developing a Research Practice

19 million) to advance the status of academic women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields. Open only to institutions, Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers (ADVANCE) reflected the “increasing recognition that the lack of women’s full participation at the senior level of the academe is often a systemic consequence of academic culture” (NSF Institutional Transformation Awards, 2001, ¶ 1)

Addressing the Problematic Issues of Bringing Reform in Science Teaching to Higher Education: Metaloguing with a Biochemistry Colleague

This chapter describes the development of my research practice, which includes my theoretical framework, methodology, method of analysis, and quality criteria in my study. The theoretical framework is critical as it sets the stage for the methodology, which in my case was qualitative and thereby influenced my method of analyzing the data and my quality criteria.

Writing a Story About Teaching University Science

This chapter contains a metalogue with one of my biochemistry colleagues, Professor Emeritus Robley J. Light (referred to in this chapter and metalogue as RJL). In this metalogue, RJL had the opportunity to read my draft doctoral thesis and then ask me questions about my teaching, my classroom, and other issues related to teaching and learning. I responded in writing.

Reflecting on My Learning Through Action Research

This chapter contains a fictionalized story about my students and their work in a collaborative group in my biochemistry classroom. I express the emotions of my students and address their frustrations (and joys) of learning in our biochemistry course, which I taught through a social constructivist lens in which collaborative learning was central, with students sharing their constructions with each other.

Researching Science Teaching and Learning

In this concluding chapter, I address the methods of my students using technology and working in collaborative groups to enhance their learning and interest in biochemistry. Because “[w]riting these stories reminds us of the continual co-creation of the self and social science” (Richardson 2000, p. 943), I am able to look back and examine the quality criteria in the various genres of writing.

Students Using Technology in the Classroom

I frame my study on the problem of reforming the teaching and learning of science in higher education in the United States. I address the shift from modernism in science to postmodernism in science education research, and the need to address this shift in the teaching of science in college and university classrooms (National Research Council (NRC) 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003; Taylor et al. 2002; Sunal et al. 2004; Druger et al. 2004). Teaching science within a sociocultural frame influences not only future scientists but also encourages future science teachers to think differently about science, teaching, and learning (NRC 2001).