Protein traffic disorders: an effective high-throughput fluorescence microscopy pipeline for drug discovery.

Plasma membrane proteins are essential molecules in the cell which mediate interactions with the exterior milieu, thus representing key drug targets for present pharma. Not surprisingly, protein traffic disorders include a large range of diseases sharing the common mechanism of failure in the respective protein to reach the plasma membrane. However, specific therapies for these diseases are remarkably lacking.

Texture indicators for segmentation of polyomavirus particles in transmission electron microscopy images.

A fully automatic approach to locate polyomavirus particles in transmission electron microscopy images is presented that can localize intact particles, many damaged capsids, and an acceptable percentage of superposed ones. Performance of the approach is quantified in 25 electron micrographs containing nearly 390 particles and compared with the interpretation of the micrographs by two independent electron microscopy experts. All parameterization is based on the particle expected dimensions.

Occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke: a study in Lisbon restaurants.

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), also referred to as secondhand smoke (SHS), is a major threat to public health and is increasingly recognized as an occupational hazard to workers in the hospitality industry. Therefore, several countries have implemented smoke-free regulations at hospitality industry sites. In Portugal, since 2008, legislation partially banned smoking in restaurants and bars but until now no data have been made available on levels of indoor ETS pollution/exposure at these locations.