3 research outputs found
New hardware and workflows for semi-automated correlative cryo-fluorescence and cryo-electron microscopy/tomography
Correlative light and electron microscopy allows features of interest defined by fluorescence signals to be located in an electron micrograph of the same sample. Rare dynamic events or specific objects can be identified, targeted and imaged by electron microscopy or tomography. To combine it with structural studies using cryo-electron microscopy or tomography, fluorescence microscopy must be performed while maintaining the specimen vitrified at liquid-nitrogen temperatures and in a dry environment during imaging and transfer. Here we present instrumentation, software and an experimental workflow that improves the ease of use, throughput and performance of correlated cryo-fluorescence and cryo-electron microscopy. The new cryo-stage incorporates a specially modified high-numerical aperture objective lens and provides a stable and clean imaging environment. It is combined with a transfer shuttle for contamination-free loading of the specimen. Optimized microscope control software allows automated acquisition of the entire specimen area by cryo-fluorescence microscopy. The software also facilitates direct transfer of the fluorescence image and associated coordinates to the cryo-electron microscope for subsequent fluorescence-guided automated imaging. Here we describe these technological developments and present a detailed workflow, which we applied for automated cryo-electron microscopy and tomography of various specimens
New hardware and workflows for semi-automated correlative cryo-fluorescence and cryo-electron microscopy/tomography
Social mindfulness and prosociality vary across the globe
Humans are social animals, but not everyone will be mindful of others to
the same extent. Individual differences have been found, but would
social mindfulness also be shaped by one's location in the world?
Expecting cross-national differences to exist, we examined if and how
social mindfulness differs across countries. At little to no material
cost, social mindfulness typically entails small acts of attention or
kindness. Even though fairly common, such low-cost cooperation has
received little empirical attention. Measuring social mindfulness across
31 samples from industrialized countries and regions (n = 8,354), we
found considerable variation. Among selected country-level variables,
greater social mindfulness was most strongly associated with countries'
better general performance on environmental protection. Together, our
findings contribute to the literature on prosociality by targeting the
kind of everyday cooperation that is more focused on communicating
benevolence than on providing material benefits