Optimization and application of median filter corrections to relieve diverse spatial patterns in microtiter plate data.

The standard (STD) 5 × 5 hybrid median filter (HMF) was previously described as a nonparametric local backestimator of spatially arrayed microtiter plate (MTP) data. As such, the HMF is a useful tool for mitigating global and sporadic systematic error in MTP data arrays. Presented here is the first known HMF correction of a primary screen suffering from systematic error best described as gradient vectors.

Phenothiazine neuroleptics signal to the human insulin promoter as revealed by a novel high-throughput screen.

A number of diabetogenic stimuli interact to influence insulin promoter activity, making it an attractive target for both mechanistic studies and therapeutic interventions. High-throughput screening (HTS) for insulin promoter modulators has the potential to reveal novel inputs into the control of that central element of the pancreatic beta-cell. A cell line from human islets in which the expression of insulin and other beta-cell-restricted genes are modulated by an inducible form of the bHLH transcription factor E47 was developed.

Hybrid median filter background estimator for correcting distortions in microtiter plate data.

Microtiter plate (MTP) assays often exhibit distortions, such as caused by edge-dependent drying and robotic fluid handling variation. Distortions vary by assay system but can have both systematic patterns (predictable from plate to plate) and random (sporadic and unpredictable) components. Random errors can be especially difficult to resolve by assay optimization alone, and postassay algorithms reported to date have smoothing effects that often blunt hits.