African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium Scientific and Training Conference 2017.

The sixth International African-Caribbean Cancer Consortium (AC3) Conference was held 6-9 October 2017 in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. The conference was open to all researchers, trainees, clinical and public health professionals, and community members, and served as an international hub for the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. Sessions included AC3 collaboration meetings, cancer surveillance and research skills training workshops, and a community cancer prevention conference.

Spectroscopic characterisation and identification of ecdysteroids using high-performance liquid chromatography combined with on-line UV--diode array, FT-infrared and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and time of flight mass spectrometry.

A prototype multiply hyphenated reversed-phase HPLC system has been applied to the analysis of a mixture of pure ecdysteroids and an ecdysteroid-containing plant extract. Characterisation was achieved via a combination of diode array UV, 1H NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy and time of flight (TOF) mass spectrometry. This combination of spectrometers allowed the collection of UV, 1H NMR, IR and mass spectra for a mixture of pure standards enabling almost complete structural characterisation to be performed. The technique was then applied to a partially purified plant extract in which 20-hydroxyecdysone and polypodine B were identified despite incomplete chromatographic resolution and the presence of co-chromatographing interferents. The experimental difficulties in the use of such a systems for these analytes are described.

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography combined with on-line UV diode array, FT infrared, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and time-of-flight mass spectrometry: application to a mixture of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs.

A prototype multiply hyphenated system has been applied to the analysis of a mixture of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs separated by reversed-phase HPLC. Characterization of the model NSAIDs was achieved via a combination of diode array UV, 1H NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy, and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. This combination of spectrometers allowed the collection of UV, 1H NMR, IR, and mass spectra together with atomic composition data enabling almost complete structural characterization to be performed.

Flow injection spectroscopic analysis of model drugs using on-line UV-diode array, FT-infrared and 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

A prototype flow injection analysis (FIA) system for the characterisation of compounds via a combination of diode array UV, 1H NMR, FT-IR spectroscopy and time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry has been investigated using a number of pharmaceuticals and related compounds as model compounds. This combination of spectrometers allowed the on-flow collection of UV, 1H NMR, IR and mass spectra together with atomic composition data, enabling almost complete structural characterisation to be performed. Practical detection limits with the current system were in the region of 50 micrograms, however, the use of state of the art spectrometers would result in a significant reduction in the amount of material required.

Size-exclusion chromatography with on-line ultraviolet, proton nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometric detection and on-line collection for off-line Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.

The coupling of HPLC with UV detection and on-line NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry combined with a dedicated interface for the collection of the chromatographic eluent for subsequent Fourier transform (FT) IR has been investigated using a number of polymer additives as model compounds. Size-exclusion chromatography was performed using deuterated chloroform as eluent with the separation monitored on-line by UV detection at 254 nm and on-flow 1H-NMR and MS. The effluent from the NMR probe was directed to a dedicated HPLC interface where it was deposited on a germanium plate for subsequent FT-IR. NMR and MS spectra were successfully obtained for 2,6-di-tert.-butyl-4-methylphenol, octadecyl-3-(3,5-di-tert.-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate (Irganox 1076) and diisooctyl phthalate on-line and FT-IR spectra for all three compounds were obtained off-line. Practical problems encountered with this multiple hyphenation are described.

Elective mutism: a case study of a disorder of childhood.

This paper reviews a number of treatment strategies utilized in the treatment of a 6-year-old boy with a history of multiple parental separations. When the patient presented to the child psychiatric clinic, he had a history of not speaking in the preceding four months, following the arrival of a stepmother in the household and a move to a new house in a new locality. Developmental and psychometric assessments are presented and their utility in early diagnosis and later prognosis are discussed. Reluctant speech is differentiated from, and compared with, elective mutism.The management of elective mutism is often complicated by these children not speaking to anyone in certain environments, and very frequently the persons with whom they do speak are not available for participation in treatment programs. Consequently, if a child does not speak to anyone who can participate in the early mapping of treatment modalities, the use of treatment strategies such as stimulus fading is impossible. Suggestions for future management to overcome this difficulty are presented and discussed.