Promoting validation and cross-phylogenetic integration in model organism research.

Model organism (MO) research provides a basic understanding of biology and disease due to the evolutionary conservation of the molecular and cellular language of life. MOs have been used to identify and understand the function of orthologous genes, proteins, cells and tissues involved in biological processes, to develop and evaluate techniques and methods, and to perform whole-organism-based chemical screens to test drug efficacy and toxicity. However, a growing richness of datasets and the rising power of computation raise an important question: How do we maximize the value of MOs? In-depth discussions in over 50 virtual presentations organized by the National Institutes of Health across more than 10 weeks yielded important suggestions for improving the rigor, validation, reproducibility and translatability of MO research.

Mass spectrometry proteomics reveals a function for mammalian CALCOCO1 in MTOR-regulated selective autophagy.

Macroautophagy/autophagy is suppressed by MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase) and is an anticancer target under active investigation. Yet, MTOR-regulated autophagy remains incompletely mapped. We used proteomic profiling to identify proteins in the MTOR-autophagy axis.

The First International Summer Snowfall Workshop: Scattering properties of realistic frozen hydrometeors from simulations and observations, as well as defining a new standard for scattering databases.

What: The work-shop gathered almost 50 scientists from Europe and the United States to discuss the progress towards developing electromagnetic scattering databases for ice and snow particles in the microwave region, their applications, the physical approximations used to compute these scattering properties, and how remote sensing and in situ observations can be used to validate scattering datasets. One of the main priorities of the workshop was to foster communication between users and developers of scattering databases, and to define standards and conventions for scattering data structures and variables. When: 28-30 June 2017.

PET tracers based on Zirconium-89.

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies has always been a dynamic area in molecular imaging. With decay half-life (3.3 d) well matched to the circulation half-lives of antibodies (usually on the order of days), (89)Zr has been extensively studied over the last decade.

Cross validation for selection of cortical interaction models from scalp EEG or MEG.

A cross-validation (CV) method based on state-space framework is introduced for comparing the fidelity of different cortical interaction models to the measured scalp electroencephalogram (EEG) or magnetoencephalography (MEG) data being modeled. A state equation models the cortical interaction dynamics and an observation equation represents the scalp measurement of cortical activity and noise. The measured data are partitioned into training and test sets.

Time-resolved interventional cardiac C-arm cone-beam CT: an application of the PICCS algorithm.

Time-resolved cardiac imaging is particularly interesting in the interventional setting since it would provide both image guidance for accurate procedural planning and cardiac functional evaluations directly in the operating room. Imaging the heart in vivo using a slowly rotating C-arm system is extremely challenging due to the limitations of the data acquisition system and the high temporal resolution required to avoid motion artifacts. In this paper, a data acquisition scheme and an image reconstruction method are proposed to achieve time-resolved cardiac cone-beam computed tomography imaging with isotropic spatial resolution and high temporal resolution using a slowly rotating C-arm system.

Tissue dielectric measurement using an interstitial dipole antenna.

The purpose of this study was to develop a technique to measure the dielectric properties of biological tissues with an interstitial dipole antenna based upon previous efforts for open-ended coaxial probes. The primary motivation for this technique is to facilitate treatment monitoring during microwave tumor ablation by utilizing the heating antenna without additional intervention or interruption of the treatment. The complex permittivity of a tissue volume surrounding the antenna was calculated from reflection coefficients measured after high-temperature microwave heating by using a rational function model of the antenna's input admittance.

Field verification of stable perched groundwater in layered bedrock uplands.

Data substantiating perched conditions in layered bedrock uplands are rare and have not been widely reported. Field observations in layered sedimentary bedrock in southwestern Wisconsin, USA, provide evidence of a stable, laterally extensive perched aquifer. Data from a densely instrumented field site show a perched aquifer in shallow dolomite, underlain by a shale-and-dolomite aquitard approximately 25 m thick, which is in turn underlain by sandstone containing a 30-m-thick unsaturated zone above a regional aquifer.

Bayesian regularization applied to ultrasound strain imaging.

Noise artifacts due to signal decorrelation and reverberation are a considerable problem in ultrasound strain imaging. For block-matching methods, information from neighboring matching blocks has been utilized to regularize the estimated displacements. We apply a recursive Bayesian regularization algorithm developed by Hayton et al.

Ever vigilant: maternal support of participation in daily life for boys with autism.

This study presents emergent findings from a qualitative study of caregivers' well-being that illuminates why caregivers of children with autism are often found to be more stressed by their caregiving than caregivers of children with other disabilities. Nine mothers with diverse backgrounds whose sons had autism spectrum disorders participated. Data were gathered through intensive interviewing and analyzed using a deductive interpretive approach.

Tandem acyl carrier protein domains in polyunsaturated fatty acid synthases.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can be biosynthesized via aerobic pathways that rely on combinations of desaturases and elongases to convert saturated fatty acids to PUFAs or anaerobic pathways that exploit polyketide synthase (PKS)-like enzymes known as PUFA synthases for de novo synthesis from acyl CoA precursors. In contrast to most fatty acid synthases (FASs) and PKSs that contain a single acyl carrier protein (ACP) domain for each cycle of fatty acid or polyketide chain elongation, all PUFA synthases known to date contain tandem ACPs (ranging from five to nine). The roles and engineering potential of such tandem ACPs in PUFA synthases remain largely unknown, although the growing demand for PUFAs and decline of current sources dictate that a greater understanding of these PUFA synthases is not only warranted, but urgently needed.