Signal Amplification of Bioassay Using Zinc Nanomaterials

An emerging trend in the analytical detection sciences is the employment of nanomaterials for bioassay signal transduction to identify analytes critical to public health. These nanomaterials have been specifically investigated for applications which require identification of trace levels of cells, proteins, or other molecules that can have broad ranging impacts to human health in fields such as clinical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, food and drink control, and the prevention of bioterrorism. Oftentimes these nanoparticle-based signal transduction or amplification approaches offer distinct advantages over conventional methods such as increased sensitivity, rapidity, or stability. The biological application of nanoparticles however, does suffer from drawbacks that have limited more widespread adoption of these techniques. Some of these drawbacks are, high cost and toxicity, arduous synthesis methods, functionalization and bioconjugation challenges, and laboratory disposal and environmental hazard issues, all of which have impeded the progression of this technology in some way or another. This work aims at developing novel techniques that offer solutions to a number of these hurdles through the development of new nanoparticle-based signal transduction approaches and the description of a previously undescribed nanomaterial.Zinc-based nanomaterials offer the opportunity to overcome some of the limitations that are encountered when other nanomaterials are employed for bioassay signal transduction. On the other hand, the biological application of zinc nanomaterials has been difficult because in general their fluorescence is in the blue range and the reported quantum yields are usually too low for highly sensitive applications. The advantages of using zinc nanomaterials for biological applications, such as reduced toxicity, simple synthesis, low cost, and straightforward functionalization strategies contribute to the research interest in their application as bioassay signal tranducers. To overcome the limitations associated with zinc-based nanomaterials, a novel signal transduction approach was developed that relies on zinc ion release from nanoparticle labels during an immunoassay. The development of an innovative method for zinc ion detection and the description of a previously undescribed zinc-based nanomaterial are also described in this work. There are three major contributions to science in this work: (1) The development of an original and innovative signal transduction approach for immunoassays that adopts fluorescence detection of zinc ions released from ZnS nanoparticle labels; (2) The discovery and development of dual signal amplification for immunoassay signal transduction using ion release and subsequent activation of a zinc dependent metallozyme; (3) The synthesis and characterization of a novel zinc-based nanomaterial and its biosensing application using both single and dual signal amplification strategies

Alternatively Spliced Human TREK-1 Variants Alter TREK-1 Channel Function and Localization

TREK-1, an outward-rectifying potassium channel activated by stretch, is found in the myometrium of pregnant women. Decreased expression of TREK-1 near term suggests that TREK-1 may contribute to uterine quiescence during gestation. Five alternatively spliced TREK-1 variants were identified in the myometrium of mothers who delivered spontaneously preterm (<37 wk), leading to the hypothesis that these TREK-1 variants could interfere with TREK-1 function or expression. To investigate a potential role for these variants, immunofluorescence, cell surface assays, Western blots, and patch clamp were employed to study TREK-1 and TREK-1 variants expressed in HEK293T cells. The results of this study demonstrate that coexpression of TREK-1 with TREK-1 variants alters TREK-1 expression and suppresses channel function. Each variant affected TREK-1 in a disparate manner. In HEK293T cells coexpressing TREK-1 and each variant, TREK-1 membrane expression was diminished with compartmentalization inside the cell. When expressed alone, individual variants displayed channel properties that were significantly decreased compared to full-length TREK-1. In coexpression studies using patch clamp, basal TREK-1 currents were reduced by similar to 64% (4.3 vs. 12.0 pA/pF) on average at 0 mV when coexpressed with each variant. TREK-1 currents that were activated by intracellular acidosis were reduced an average of similar to 77% (21.4 vs. 94.5 pA/pF) at 0 mV when cells were transfected with TREK-1 and any one of the splice variants. These data correlate the presence of TREK-1 variants to reduced TREK-1 activity, suggesting a pathological role for TREK-1 variants in preterm labor

Expert perspectives on global biodiversity loss and its drivers and impacts on people

Despite substantial progress in understanding global biodiversity loss, major taxonomic and geographic knowledge gaps remain. Decision makers often rely on expert judgement to fill knowledge gaps, but are rarely able to engage with sufficiently large and diverse groups of specialists. To improve understanding of the perspectives of thousands of biodiversity experts worldwide, we conducted a survey and asked experts to focus on the taxa and freshwater, terrestrial, or marine ecosystem with which they are most familiar. We found several points of overwhelming consensus (for instance, multiple drivers of biodiversity loss interact synergistically) and important demographic and geographic differences in specialists’ perspectives and estimates. Experts from groups that are underrepresented in biodiversity science, including women and those from the Global South, recommended different priorities for conservation solutions, with less emphasis on acquiring new protected areas, and provided higher estimates of biodiversity loss and its impacts. This may in part be because they disproportionately study the most highly threatened taxa and habitats. Front Ecol Environ 2022;

Expert perspectives on global biodiversity loss and its drivers and impacts on people

Despite substantial progress in understanding global biodiversity loss, major taxonomic and geographic knowledge gaps remain. Decision makers often rely on expert judgement to fill knowledge gaps, but are rarely able to engage with sufficiently large and diverse groups of specialists. To improve understanding of the perspectives of thousands of biodiversity experts worldwide, we conducted a survey and asked experts to focus on the taxa and freshwater, terrestrial, or marine ecosystem with which they are most familiar. We found several points of overwhelming consensus (for instance, multiple drivers of biodiversity loss interact synergistically) and important demographic and geographic differences in specialists’ perspectives and estimates. Experts from groups that are underrepresented in biodiversity science, including women and those from the Global South, recommended different priorities for conservation solutions, with less emphasis on acquiring new protected areas, and provided higher estimates of biodiversity loss and its impacts. This may in part be because they disproportionately study the most highly threatened taxa and habitats. Front Ecol Environ 2022;