A Picture is Worth 1000 Words: Teaching Science Communication with Graphical Abstract Assignments.

An important part of scientific training in undergraduate curriculum involves teaching students how to effectively communicate in science. Scientific writing and oral presentations are important parts of most science classes. The same cannot be said about a new and emerging aspect of many recent scientific articles: graphical abstracts.

Gains in Scientific Identity, Scientific Self-Efficacy, and Career Intent Distinguish Upper-Level CUREs from Traditional Experiences in the Classroom.

Attrition from the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) pipeline limits the number of graduates needed to meet STEM workforce demand and impedes efforts to diversify the workforce. Identifying factors that underlie academic success and STEM persistence is an important component to increasing the number of STEM graduates. The current study utilizes the social influence process indicators of the Tripartite Integration Model of Social Influence to investigate effects of course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) participation and to predict career intent in a diverse population.

Efficacy of Tourniquet Use in Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Cohort Review.

Background: The use of a tourniquet has become widely accepted as standard practice during total knee arthroplasty (TKA). There are conflicting outcomes in using a tourniquet during TKA. This brings to question the role a tourniquet has in TKA.

Failure of Screw/Shell Interface in the Trident II Acetabular System in Total Hip Arthroplasty.

We report a case series of 2 patients with screw/shell interface failure in the Stryker Trident II Acetabular System. Both failures consisted of screw penetration through the Trident II acetabular shell. One failure was observed postoperatively after a revision from a cephalomedullary nail to a total hip arthroplasty while the other was observed intraoperatively during a primary total hip arthroplasty.

Proteomic analysis of the acidocalcisome, an organelle conserved from bacteria to human cells.

Acidocalcisomes are acidic organelles present in a diverse range of organisms from bacteria to human cells. In this study acidocalcisomes were purified from the model organism Trypanosoma brucei, and their protein composition was determined by mass spectrometry. The results, along with those that we previously reported, show that acidocalcisomes are rich in pumps and transporters, involved in phosphate and cation homeostasis, and calcium signaling.

The acidocalcisome vacuolar transporter chaperone 4 catalyzes the synthesis of polyphosphate in insect-stages of Trypanosoma brucei and T. cruzi.

Polyphosphate is a polymer of inorganic phosphate found in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Polyphosphate typically accumulates in acidic, calcium-rich organelles known as acidocalcisomes, and recent research demonstrated that vacuolar transporter chaperone 4 catalyzes its synthesis in yeast. The human pathogens Trypanosoma brucei and T.

Trypanosoma brucei vacuolar transporter chaperone 4 (TbVtc4) is an acidocalcisome polyphosphate kinase required for in vivo infection.

Polyphosphate (polyP) is an anionic polymer of orthophosphate groups linked by high energy bonds that typically accumulates in acidic, calcium-rich organelles known as acidocalcisomes. PolyP synthesis in eukaryotes was unclear until it was demonstrated that the protein named Vtc4p (vacuolar transporter chaperone 4) is a long chain polyP kinase that localizes to the yeast vacuole. Here, we report that TbVtc4 (Vtc4 ortholog of Trypanosoma brucei) encodes, in contrast, a short chain polyP kinase that localizes to acidocalcisomes.

Identification of contractile vacuole proteins in Trypanosoma cruzi.

Contractile vacuole complexes are critical components of cell volume regulation and have been shown to have other functional roles in several free-living protists. However, very little is known about the functions of the contractile vacuole complex of the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, other than a role in osmoregulation. Identification of the protein composition of these organelles is important for understanding their physiological roles.

Target of rapamycin (TOR)-like 1 kinase is involved in the control of polyphosphate levels and acidocalcisome maintenance in Trypanosoma brucei.

Target of rapamycin (TOR) kinases are highly conserved protein kinases that integrate signals from nutrients and growth factors to coordinate cell growth and cell cycle progression. It has been previously described that two TOR kinases control cell growth in the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of African trypanosomiasis. Here we studied an unusual TOR-like protein named TbTOR-like 1 containing a PDZ domain and found exclusively in kinetoplastids.

Calcium- and polyphosphate-containing acidocalcisomes in chicken egg yolk.

Background Information: Poly P (inorganic polyphosphate) is a polymer formed by P(i) residues linked by high-energy phosphoanhydride bonds. The presence of poly P in bacteria, fungi, algae and protists has been widely recognized, but the distribution of poly P in more complex eukaryotes has been poorly studied. Poly P accumulates, together with calcium, in acidic vesicles or acidocalcisomes in a number of organisms and possesses a diverse array of functions, including roles in stress response, blood clotting, inflammation, calcification, cell proliferation and apoptosis.

Evolution of acidocalcisomes and their role in polyphosphate storage and osmoregulation in eukaryotic microbes.

Acidocalcisomes are acidic electron-dense organelles, rich in polyphosphate (poly P) complexed with calcium and other cations. While its matrix contains enzymes related to poly P metabolism, the membrane of the acidocalcisomes has a number of pumps (Ca(2+)-ATPase, V-H(+)-ATPase, H(+)-PPase), exchangers (Na(+)/H(+), Ca(2+)/H(+)), and at least one channel (aquaporin). Acidocalcisomes are present in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes and are an important storage of cations and phosphorus.

Prevalence of Perkinsus marinus (dermo), Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX), and QPX in bivalves of Delaware's inland bays and quantitative, high-throughput diagnosis of dermo by QPCR.

Restoration of oyster reef habitat in the Inland Bays of Delaware was accompanied by an effort to detect and determine relative abundance of the bivalve pathogens Perkinsus marinus, Haplosporidium nelsoni, and QPX. Both the oyster Crassostrea virginica and the clam Mercenaria mercenaria were sampled from the bays. In addition, oysters were deployed at eight sites around the bays as sentinels for the three parasites.