Upconverting microgauges reveal intraluminal force dynamics in vivo.

The forces generated by action potentials in muscle cells shuttle blood, food and waste products throughout the luminal structures of the body. Although non-invasive electrophysiological techniques exist, most mechanosensors cannot access luminal structures non-invasively. Here we introduce non-toxic ingestible mechanosensors to enable the quantitative study of luminal forces and apply them to study feeding in living Caenorhabditis elegans roundworms.

Solution-phase sample-averaged single-particle spectroscopy of quantum emitters with femtosecond resolution.

The development of many quantum optical technologies depends on the availability of single quantum emitters with near-perfect coherence. Systematic improvement is limited by a lack of understanding of the microscopic energy flow at the single-emitter level and ultrafast timescales. Here we utilize a combination of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and ultrafast spectroscopy to capture the sample-averaged dynamics of defects with single-particle sensitivity.

Remotely controlled chemomagnetic modulation of targeted neural circuits.

Connecting neural circuit output to behaviour can be facilitated by the precise chemical manipulation of specific cell populations. Engineered receptors exclusively activated by designer small molecules enable manipulation of specific neural pathways. However, their application to studies of behaviour has thus far been hampered by a trade-off between the low temporal resolution of systemic injection versus the invasiveness of implanted cannulae or infusion pumps.

The biosynthetic origin of psychoactive kavalactones in kava.

Kava (Piper methysticum) is an ethnomedicinal shrub native to the Polynesian islands with well-established anxiolytic and analgesic properties. Its main psychoactive principles, kavalactones, form a unique class of polyketides that interact with the human central nervous system through mechanisms distinct from those of conventional psychiatric drugs. However, an unknown biosynthetic machinery and difficulty in chemical synthesis hinder the therapeutic use of kavalactones.

Correlation of myocardial p-(123)I-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid retention with (18)F-FDG accumulation during experimental low-flow ischemia.

Unlabelled: Myocardial ischemia is associated with reduced free fatty acid (FFA) beta-oxidation and increased glucose utilization. This study evaluated the potential of dynamic SPECT imaging of a FFA analog, p-(123)I-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid (IPPA), for detection of ischemia and compares retention of IPPA with (18)F-FDG accumulation.

Methods: In a canine model of regional low-flow ischemia (n = 9), serial IPPA SPECT images (2 min per image) were acquired over 52--90 min.