Quantitative Comparison of Deparaffinization, Rehydration, and Extraction Methods for FFPE Tissue Proteomics and Phosphoproteomics.

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues are suitable for proteomic and phosphoproteomic biomarker studies by data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry. The choice of the sample preparation method influences the number, intensity, and reproducibility of identifications. By comparing four deparaffinization and rehydration methods, including heptane, histolene, SubX, and xylene, we found that heptane and methanol produced the lowest coefficients of variation (CVs).

Heat 'n Beat: A Universal High-Throughput End-to-End Proteomics Sample Processing Platform in under an Hour.

Proteomic analysis by mass spectrometry of small (≤2 mg) solid tissue samples from diverse formats requires high throughput and comprehensive proteome coverage. We developed a nearly universal, rapid, and robust protocol for sample preparation, suitable for high-throughput projects that encompass most cell or tissue types. This end-to-end workflow extends from original sample to loading the mass spectrometer and is centered on a one-tube homogenization and digestion method called Heat 'n Beat (HnB).

Perspectives On Bioinspired Product Development: Entrapping Surfaces Based On Leaf Microstructures.

Scientists who work on bioinspired systems may see the potential for products resulting from their research, but are often unaware of the various steps or issues related to commercialization or product development. Commercialization topics lie outside the usual training of a basic biologist, and therefore much of their exposure to these topics is adventitious, such as from casual conversations at meetings. Thus, the information gleaned may be somewhat piecemeal.

Microbially-Enhanced Vanadium Mining and Bioremediation Under Micro- and Mars Gravity on the International Space Station.

As humans explore and settle in space, they will need to mine elements to support industries such as manufacturing and construction. In preparation for the establishment of permanent human settlements across the Solar System, we conducted the ESA BioRock experiment on board the International Space Station to investigate whether biological mining could be accomplished under extraterrestrial gravity conditions. We tested the hypothesis that the gravity () level influenced the efficacy with which biomining could be achieved from basalt, an abundant material on the Moon and Mars, by quantifying bioleaching by three different microorganisms under microgravity, simulated Mars and Earth gravitational conditions.

Space station biomining experiment demonstrates rare earth element extraction in microgravity and Mars gravity.

Microorganisms are employed to mine economically important elements from rocks, including the rare earth elements (REEs), used in electronic industries and alloy production. We carried out a mining experiment on the International Space Station to test hypotheses on the bioleaching of REEs from basaltic rock in microgravity and simulated Mars and Earth gravities using three microorganisms and a purposely designed biomining reactor. Sphingomonas desiccabilis enhanced mean leached concentrations of REEs compared to non-biological controls in all gravity conditions.

No Effect of Microgravity and Simulated Mars Gravity on Final Bacterial Cell Concentrations on the International Space Station: Applications to Space Bioproduction.

Microorganisms perform countless tasks on Earth and they are expected to be essential for human space exploration. Despite the interest in the responses of bacteria to space conditions, the findings on the effects of microgravity have been contradictory, while the effects of Martian gravity are nearly unknown. We performed the ESA BioRock experiment on the International Space Station to study microbe-mineral interactions in microgravity, simulated Mars gravity and simulated Earth gravity, as well as in ground gravity controls, with three bacterial species: , , and .

Item statistics derived from three-option versions of multiple-choice questions are usually as robust as four- or five-option versions: implications for exam design.

Different versions of multiple-choice exams were administered to an undergraduate class in human physiology as part of normal testing in the classroom. The goal was to evaluate whether the number of options (possible answers) per question influenced the effectiveness of this assessment. Three exams (each with three versions) were given to each of two sections during an academic quarter.

Forces to pierce cuticle of tarsi and material properties determined by nanoindentation: The Achilles' heel of bed bugs.

The mechanical properties of bed bug ( L.) tarsi and pretarsi were investigated in order to evaluate their vulnerability to piercing by plant trichomes (sharp microscopic hairs). Nanoindentation was used to measure the force required to insert a sharp probe into the cuticle of these different regions, as well as to determine creep and reduced elastic moduli for the cuticle.

Rapid killing of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) on surfaces using heat: application to luggage.

Background: The resistance of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) to chemical insecticides has motivated the development of non-chemical control methods such as heat treatment. However, because bed bugs tend to hide in cracks or crevices, their behavior incidentally generates a thermally insulated microenvironment for themselves.

Cricket antennae shorten when bending (Acheta domesticus L.).

Insect antennae are important mechanosensory and chemosensory organs. Insect appendages, such as antennae, are encased in a cuticular exoskeleton and are thought to bend only between segments or subsegments where the cuticle is thinner, more flexible, or bent into a fold. There is a growing appreciation of the dominating influence of folds in the mechanical behavior of a structure, and the bending of cricket antennae was considered in this context.

Entrapment of bed bugs by leaf trichomes inspires microfabrication of biomimetic surfaces.

Resurgence in bed bug infestations and widespread pesticide resistance have greatly renewed interest in the development of more sustainable, environmentally friendly methods to manage bed bugs. Historically, in Eastern Europe, bed bugs were entrapped by leaves from bean plants, which were then destroyed; this purely physical entrapment was related to microscopic hooked hairs (trichomes) on the leaf surfaces. Using scanning electron microscopy and videography, we documented the capture mechanism: the physical impaling of bed bug feet (tarsi) by these trichomes.

A laboratory exercise using a physical model for demonstrating countercurrent heat exchange.

A physical model was used in a laboratory exercise to teach students about countercurrent exchange mechanisms. Countercurrent exchange is the transport of heat or chemicals between fluids moving in opposite directions separated by a permeable barrier (such as blood within adjacent blood vessels flowing in opposite directions). Greater exchange of heat or chemicals between the fluids occurs when the flows are in opposite directions (countercurrent) than in the same direction (concurrent).

Position around a tree: consequences for pheromone detection.

The air flow pattern expected around a cylindrical object such as a tree in slow wind, is predicted from fluid mechanics to have areas of faster flow (upwind) and slower recirculating flow with eddies (downwind). An organism located on the surface of a tree would experience different flow depending on its circumferential position. If that organism was searching for a chemical signal, such as a pheromone plume, it might maximize its probability of chemodetection by placing itself in areas of greatest flow speed (the upwind surface of the cylinder, i.

Electroantennographic resolution of pulsed pheromone plumes in two species of moths with bipectinate antennae.

Trains of 20-ms-duration pulses of pheromone were delivered at rates of 1-33 Hz to antennal preparations of males of Bombyx mori and Lymantria dispar, two moth species with bipectinate antennae. Resolution of rapidly pulsed plumes of pheromone was not compromised by a complex antennal morphology or by moderate changes in wind speed (25-50 cm/s). Fourier analysis of the electroantennograms resolved the temporal structure of the signal at frequencies up to 25 Hz for B.

Divergence of streamlines approaching a pectinate insect antenna: consequences for chemoreception.

Pectinate (feathery) antennae have high resistance to air flow, and therefore most of the air approaching an antenna is diverted around it and is not available for chemical sampling by the sensory hairs on that antenna. The small fraction (approximately 10-20%) of approaching air that passes through the air spaces or gaps in the antenna decelerates and the streamlines diverge as the air approaches the antenna. Sampling a small fraction of air that is decelerating and diverging has consequences for chemoreception that are described here for the first time.

Sniffing by a silkworm moth: wing fanning enhances air penetration through and pheromone interception by antennae.

Many organisms increase the air or water flow adjacent to olfactory surfaces when exposed to appropriate chemical stimuli; such 'sniffing' samples fluid from a specific region and can increase the rate of interception of odorant molecules. We used hot-wire anemometry, high-speed videography and flow visualization to study air flow near the feathery olfactory antennae of male silkworm moths (Bombyx mori L.).

The effects of physical exercise on patients with Crohn's disease.

Objective: Despite the suggested benefits of exercise training in the prevention and management of chronic diseases, few data exist regarding the safety of exercise in Crohn's disease and whether or not exercise may have beneficial effects on patients' health. We performed a pilot study to evaluate the effects of regular light-intensity exercise on sedentary patients with Crohn's disease.

Methods: Sedentary patients with inactive or mildly active Crohn's disease were eligible for the study.

The use of the dimensionless Womersley number to characterize the unsteady nature of internal flow.

Dimensionless numbers are very useful in characterizing mechanical behavior because their magnitude can often be interpreted as the relative importance of competing forces that will influence mechanical behavior in different ways. One dimensionless number, the Womersley number (Wo), is sometimes used to describe the unsteady nature of fluid flow in response to an unsteady pressure gradient; i. e.

WHEN DOES MOTION RELATIVE TO NEIGHBORING SURFACES ALTER THE FLOW THROUGH ARRAYS OF HAIRS?

Many animals from different phyla use structures bearing arrays of hairs to perform a variety of important functions, such as olfaction, gas exchange, suspension feeding and locomotion. The performance of all these functions depends on the motion of water or air around and through these arrays of hairs. Because organisms often move such hair-bearing appendages with respect to their bodies or the substratum, we assessed the effects of such motion relative to walls on the fluid flow between neighboring hairs.