A proof-of-concept rat toxicity study highlights the potential utility and challenges of virtual control groups.

The virtual control group (VCG) concept provides a potential opportunity to reduce animal use in drug development by replacing concurrent control groups (CCGs) in nonclinical toxicity studies. This work investigated the feasibility and reliability of using VCGs in place of CCGs. A historical control database (HCD), constructed from Genentech Inc.

Microstructure and crystal order during freezing of supercooled water drops.

Supercooled water droplets are widely used to study supercooled water, ice nucleation and droplet freezing. Their freezing in the atmosphere affects the dynamics and climate feedback of clouds and can accelerate cloud freezing through secondary ice production. Droplet freezing occurs at several timescales and length scales and is sufficiently stochastic to make it unlikely that two frozen drops are identical.

Antioxidant and lipid supplementation improve the development of photoreceptor outer segments in pluripotent stem cell-derived retinal organoids.

The generation of retinal organoids from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) is now a well-established process that in part recapitulates retinal development. However, hPSC-derived photoreceptors that exhibit well-organized outer segment structures have yet to be observed. To facilitate improved inherited retinal disease modeling, we determined conditions that would support outer segment development in maturing hPSC-derived photoreceptors.

Trends in surgical and ablative treatment of localised renal cell carcinoma: A review of publication trends over 16 years (2000-2015).

: To investigate the bibliometric (publication) trends in surgical and ablative treatment of localised renal cell carcinoma (RCC) over a period of 16-years, from 2000 to 2015, as publication trends reflect clinical practice and new innovations. : We performed a systematic review using PubMed over a 16-year period from 2000 to 2015 for all published papers on surgical and ablative management of renal tumours. Data were further analysed in two time periods, period-1 (2000-2007) and period-2 (2008-2015).

The Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography Instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source.

The Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography (MFX) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is the seventh and newest instrument at the world's first hard X-ray free-electron laser. It was designed with a primary focus on structural biology, employing the ultrafast pulses of X-rays from LCLS at atmospheric conditions to overcome radiation damage limitations in biological measurements. It is also capable of performing various time-resolved measurements.

How Cubic Can Ice Be?

Using an X-ray laser, we investigated the crystal structure of ice formed by homogeneous ice nucleation in deeply supercooled water nanodrops (r ≈ 10 nm) at ∼225 K. The nanodrops were formed by condensation of vapor in a supersonic nozzle, and the ice was probed within 100 μs of freezing using femtosecond wide-angle X-ray scattering at the Linac Coherent Light Source free-electron X-ray laser. The X-ray diffraction spectra indicate that this ice has a metastable, predominantly cubic structure; the shape of the first ice diffraction peak suggests stacking-disordered ice with a cubicity value, χ, in the range of 0.

Se-SAD serial femtosecond crystallography datasets from selenobiotinyl-streptavidin.

We provide a detailed description of selenobiotinyl-streptavidin (Se-B SA) co-crystal datasets recorded using the Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) for selenium single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (Se-SAD) structure determination. Se-B SA was chosen as the model system for its high affinity between biotin and streptavidin where the sulfur atom in the biotin molecule (CHNOS) is substituted with selenium. The dataset was collected at three different transmissions (100, 50, and 10%) using a serial sample chamber setup which allows for two sample chambers, a front chamber and a back chamber, to operate simultaneously.

Selenium single-wavelength anomalous diffraction de novo phasing using an X-ray-free electron laser.

Structural information about biological macromolecules near the atomic scale provides important insight into the functions of these molecules. To date, X-ray crystallography has been the predominant method used for macromolecular structure determination. However, challenges exist when solving structures with X-rays, including the phase problem and radiation damage.

The perspectives of stakeholders of intellectual disability liaison nurses: a model of compassionate, person-centred care.

Aims And Objectives: To investigate the experiences of patients with intellectual disabilities, family and paid carers regarding the role of liaison nurses and the delivery of compassionate, person-centred care. From this to propose a model of person-centred care embedded in these experiences.

Background: People with intellectual disabilities have a high number of comorbidities, requiring multidisciplinary care, and are at high risk of morbidity and preventable mortality.

The Coherent X-ray Imaging instrument at the Linac Coherent Light Source.

The Coherent X-ray Imaging (CXI) instrument specializes in hard X-ray, in-vacuum, high power density experiments in all areas of science. Two main sample chambers, one containing a 100 nm focus and one a 1 µm focus, are available, each with multiple diagnostics, sample injection, pump-probe and detector capabilities. The flexibility of CXI has enabled it to host a diverse range of experiments, from biological to extreme matter.