Single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a portable and adaptable 3D-printed microscopy platform (Brick-MIC).

Over the past decades, single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy have advanced and represent essential tools for life science research. There is, however, a growing gap between the state of the art and what is accessible to biologists, biochemists, medical researchers, or labs with financial constraints. To bridge this gap, we introduce Brick-MIC, a versatile and affordable open-source 3D-printed microspectroscopy and imaging platform.

Single-molecule detection and super-resolution imaging with a portable and adaptable 3D-printed microscopy platform (Brick-MIC).

Over the past decades, single-molecule and super-resolution microscopy have advanced and represent essential tools for life science research. There is,however, a growing gap between the state-of-the-art and what is accessible to biologists, biochemists, medical researchers or labs with financial constraints. To bridge this gap, we introduce Brick-MIC, a versatile and affordable open-source 3D-printed micro-spectroscopy and imaging platform.

Self-Healing Dyes-Keeping the Promise?

Self-healing dyes have emerged as a new promising class of fluorescent labels. They consist of two units, a fluorescent dye and a photostabilizer. The latter heals whenever the fluorescent dye is in danger of taking a reaction pathway toward photobleaching.

Clinical Performance of Anterior Full Veneer Restorations Made of Lithium Disilicate with a Mean Observation Time of 8 Years.

Purpose: To evaluate the survival and complication rates of full veneer restorations after up to 11 years of clinical service.

Materials And Methods: Six patients (four men, two women, median age 42.3 ± 4.

Clinical performance of occlusal onlays made of lithium disilicate ceramic in patients with severe tooth wear up to 11 years.

Objectives: Evaluation of survival and complication rate of monolithic occlusal onlays made of lithium disilicate ceramic used in patients with severe tooth wear up to 11years of clinical service.

Methods: In a prospective non-randomized clinical study 7 patients (4 male, 3 female; median age: 44.3±6.

Does hip displacement influence health-related quality of life in children with cerebral palsy?

Objective: To evaluate the association of hip lateralisation with health-related quality of life (HRQL) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) using the Caregiver Priorities and Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD(®)) questionnaire.

Methods: We assessed n = 34 patients (mean age: 10.2 years, SD: 4.

German translation of the caregiver priorities and child health index of life with disabilities questionnaire: test-retest reliability and correlation with gross motor function in children with cerebral palsy.

We aimed to translate the Caregiver Priorities and Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD) questionnaire into German and to evaluate its reliability and validity by studying the association between CPCHILD scores and gross motor function as measured by the gross motor function classification system (GMFCS) in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The original CPCHILD questionnaire and manual were translated and back translated. It was administered to primary caregivers of persons with CP (GMFCS levels III-V) and was completed a second time 2 weeks after the first to measure test-retest reliability (n = 17).

CAD/CAM-generated high-density polymer restorations for the pretreatment of complex cases: a case report.

Complex rehabilitations represent a particular challenge for the restorative team, especially if the vertical dimension of occlusion (VDO) needs to be reconstructed or redefined. The use of provisional acrylic or composite materials allows clinicians to evaluate the treatment objective over a certain period of time and therefore generates a high predictability of the definitive rehabilitation in terms of esthetics and function. CAD/CAM technology enables the use of prefabricated polymer materials, which are fabricated under industrial conditions to form a highly homogeneous structure compared with those of direct fabrication.

All-ceramic restorations in different indications: a case series.

Background: Encompassing a vast array of materials, today's all-ceramic systems are suitable for a large range of indications in almost all areas of fixed restorative dentistry.

Methods: The authors describe five clinical cases involving different indications to illustrate the use of different ceramic materials and combinations of materials. They describe the collaboration between the dentist and dental technician for single-tooth restorations and for complex cases, including all stages of the restorative procedures from treatment planning with an analytic wax-up to the selection of appropriate materials, tooth preparation and cementation.

Hydrophobicity patterns and biological adaptation: an exemplary case from fish hemoglobins.

The dissection of phylogenetic and environmental components in biological evolution is one of the main themes of general biology. Here we propose an approach to this theme relying upon the comparison between a phylogenetic oriented metrics spanning the hemoglobin beta chains of different fishes and a more physiologically oriented metrics defining the same sequences in terms of the dynamical features of their hydrophobic distributions. By analyzing the set of sequences more similar to the Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod) hemoglobin beta chain, we were able to give a proof of concept of the possibility to discriminate the phylogenetic and environmental (evolutive convergence) components by the comparative analysis of the Clustal W (phylogenetics first) and Recurrence Quantification Analysis (physiology first) metrics in which the sequences were embedded.

Whether depositing fat or losing weight, fish maintain a balance.

In fish, the relative amount of tissues of different densities changes significantly over short periods throughout the year, depending on the availability of food, nutrition and their developmental status, such as sexual maturation. If a land-living animal accumulates fat it influences not only its general state of health, but also markedly increases its energy expenditure for locomotion owing to the force of gravity. On a body submerged in water, this force, which acts on the centre of gravity (COG), is counterbalanced by a lifting force that is negligible in air and which acts on the centre of buoyancy (COB).

Haemoglobin polymorphisms affect the oxygen-binding properties in Atlantic cod populations.

A major challenge in evolutionary biology is to identify the genes underlying adaptation. The oxygen-transporting haemoglobins directly link external conditions with metabolic needs and therefore represent a unique system for studying environmental effects on molecular evolution. We have discovered two haemoglobin polymorphisms in Atlantic cod populations inhabiting varying temperature and oxygen regimes in the North Atlantic.

Temperature acclimation modulates the oxygen binding properties of the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) genotypes-HbI*1/1, HbI*1/2, and HbI*2/2-by changing the concentrations of their major hemoglobin components (results from growth studies at different temperatures).

The influence of long-term acclimation temperatures in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) was studied by growth experiments carried out over a total of 272 individuals. The attention focused on the structural and functional modulation of the five electrophoretically distinguishable genotypes of cod hemoglobin (HbI*1/1, HbI*1/2, HbI*2/2, HbI*1/2b, and HbI*2/2b) and on the correlation with body length/weight. The main results can be summarized as follows.

Diving development in nursing harbour seal pups.

This study investigated physiological and behavioural aspects of diving development in pups of the harbour seal Phoca vitulina. Behavioural data (4280 h, 6027 dives) from time/depth recorders (N=13) deployed on pups aged 0-19 days are presented concomitantly with physiological measurements (N=8, sampled both early and late in the nursing period) of blood oxygen stores and body composition. Pups grew from 12.

Genetic variation and functional properties of Atlantic cod hemoglobins: introducing a modified tonometric method for studying fragile hemoglobins.

Hemoglobin polymorphism in Atlantic cod has been investigated with respect to physiological performance at 10, 15 and 20 degrees C applying a modified tonometric method for O2 equilibrium analysis with full control of the equilibrating gas mixture. The results did not indicate any dissociation of the hemoglobins by a reduction in cooperativity and a parallel increase in affinity during the analytical procedure in contrast to the original tonometric method. With the applied preparation technique, we could store the hemolysate for 70 days at -25 degrees C without any significant changes in the O2 binding properties (P < 0.

Functional characterisation of Eskimo dog hemoglobin: II. The interplay of HCO(3)- and Cl-.

Hemoglobin (Hb) from the Eskimo dog (belonging to Canis lupus familiaris) showed similar Bohr effect (delta log P50/delta pH) to human HbA in the presence of 100 mmol l-1 NaCl at 20 degrees C. The presence of 7% carbon dioxide in the desalted condition caused a positive (reversed) Bohr effect in the pH range 7.1-7.

Synergistic modulation by chloride and organic phosphates of hemoglobin from bear (Ursus arctos).

The oxygen binding properties of hemoglobin (Hb) from brown bear (Ursus arctos) have been studied focussing on the effect of heterotropic ligands, and the behaviour has been compared with that of human HbA, taken as a prototype of mammalian Hbs. It has been observed that in bear Hb chloride ions and 2,3-diphosphoglyceric acid (Gri(2,3)P2) can modulate the oxygen affinity in a synergistic way such that their individual effect is enhanced whenever they are both present in saturating amounts. The thermodynamic analysis of such a feature indicates that in bear Hb there are two classes of chloride binding sites, one acting synergistically with Gri(2,3)P2 and another one, which likely overlaps with the organic phosphate interaction cleft, and is therefore fully operative only in the absence of Gri(2,3)P2.

Physiological relevance of the overall delta H of oxygen binding to fetal human hemoglobin.

Human fetal hemoglobin is known to display, at 20 degrees C, a lower affinity than human adult hemoglobin for oxygen when both proteins are in the absence of organic phosphates. The physiologically important reverse situation is achieved at 37 degrees C upon addition of 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate (DPG), whose lower effect on fetal hemoglobin is related to some amino acid substitutions present in gamma-chains. However, the difference in oxygen affinity observed at 37 degrees C is not solely due to the different modulation power of DPG with respect to adult and fetal hemoglobins.

The interplay of temperature and protons in the modulation of oxygen binding by squid blood.

An extensive set of data relating to the binding of oxygen by haemocyanin from the squid Todarodes sagittatus has been collected under various experimental conditions. The results obtained show that, within the range of physiological pH, the concentration of protons affects mainly the high-affinity state of the molecule without significantly affecting the low-affinity state. As far as the effect of temperature is concerned, the data show a characteristic feature which is very similar to that previously described in the case of haemoglobins from Arctic mammals such as reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and musk ox.

The primary structure of hemoglobin from reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) and its functional implications.

The primary structures of alpha- and beta-chains of hemoglobin from reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) were determined. Comparison of the reindeer hemoglobin sequence with those of human and bovine hemoglobins showed 50 and 29 substitutions per alpha beta dimer, respectively. The influence of replacements on the modulation of hemoglobin oxygen affinity by heterothopic ligands and temperature, as well as their importance on the structure-function relationships in hemoglobin are discussed.

Interaction of hemoglobin with chloride and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate. A comparative approach.

The equilibrium oxygen-binding properties of hemoglobins from reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus), musk ox (Ovibos muschatos) and a bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) have been investigated with special reference to the effect of heterotrophic ligands such as chloride and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate [Gri(2,3)P2]. The results obtained with hemoglobins from reindeer and musk ox indicate that their low oxygen affinity and their insensitivity to Gri(2,3)P2 are not only an intrinsic property of the molecule, as proposed in the case of ruminant hemoglobins, but also the results of the interplay between chloride and Gri(2,3)P2 interactions. In other words, insensitivity of reindeer and musk ox hemoglobins to Gri(2,3)P2 is mainly due to a decreased affinity constant for this cofactor and to an increased affinity constant for chloride anions; this renders more effective the competition of chloride for th anion-binding site.

Temperature modulation of oxygen transport in a diving mammal (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).

The functional properties of haemoglobin from the Lesser Rorqual whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) have been characterized as a function of the heterotropic effector concentrations and temperature. The results obtained suggest the existence of sophisticated modulation mechanisms based on the interplay of organic phosphates, carbon dioxide, lactate and temperature. These, together with the very small apparent heat of oxygenation (delta H) of oxygen binding, have been physiologically interpreted on the basis of the specific metabolic needs of this diving mammal.

Flight and heat dissipation in birds. A possible molecular mechanism.

Birds during normal sustained flight must be able to dissipate more than 8 times as much heat as during rest in order not to be overheated. The experiments reported in this note on the hemoglobin systems from two different birds indicate the existence of a molecular mechanism by which hemoglobin is used simultaneously for oxygen transport and heat dissipation.