Chemical enhancement of soil-based marks on nonporous surfaces followed by gelatin lifting

This study assessed the use of processing techniques (potassium thiocyanate, 2-2-dipyridil, potassium ferrocyanide, ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate, safranin, magnetic powder) for the enhancement of soil-based marks on nonporous surfaces, followed by gelatin lifting for the recovery of these marks. Other variables in the study included the use of nonporous substrates with varying colors (ceramic tiles, glass, linoleum, plastic bags, leaflets) and different aging periods (1, 7, 14, and 28 days) prior to enhancement and gelatin lifting. A numerical grading system from -1 (deterioration) to 4 (recovery of all fine detail) was adopted to assess the quality of the enhancement achieved.In this study, the two most effective chemical enhancement techniques for soil-based marks on nonporous surfaces were safranin and potassium thiocyanate, specifically on grey linoleum and white ceramic tiles. One-day aging of soil-based marks provided poor results, whereas 28-day aging periods provided superior enhancement. In general, lifting with gelatin lifts provided further improvement on the initial enhancement, by means of contrast and sharpness. However, the use of gelatin lifting sometimes resulted in the deterioration of the original mark. Marks treated with safranin and lifted with white gelatin lifts provided even further improvement through fluorescence examination

Transposable Elements in TDP-43-Mediated Neurodegenerative Disorders

Elevated expression of specific transposable elements (TEs) has been observed in several neurodegenerative disorders. TEs also can be active during normal neurogenesis. By mining a series of deep sequencing datasets of protein-RNA interactions and of gene expression profiles, we uncovered extensive binding of TE transcripts to TDP-43, an RNA-binding protein central to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Second, we find that association between TDP-43 and many of its TE targets is reduced in FTLD patients. Third, we discovered that a large fraction of the TEs to which TDP-43 binds become de-repressed in mouse TDP-43 disease models. We propose the hypothesis that TE mis-regulation contributes to TDP-43 related neurodegenerative diseases

Pothole Reporting System

The purpose of this project is to create a pothole detection device that can be attached to the underside of a commercial vehicle. Potholes cost motorists around 6.4 billion dollars annually, thus demonstrating the need for a system to aid with the detection and reporting of potholes. The four systems we needed to consider for the implementation of this project were the power system, the sensing system, the data processing system, and the reporting and logging system. Power pulled from the vehicle will enable the sensors and data processing module. The data processing module will analyze the readings from the sensors and output pothole data to the logging and reporting system. The logging and reporting system, located on an android mobile device, will store the pothole locations on a cloud server

Ejecta Knot Flickering, Mass Ablation, and Fragmentation in Cassiopeia A

Ejecta knot flickering, ablation tails, and fragmentation are expected signatures associated with the gradual dissolution of high-velocity supernova (SN) ejecta caused by their passage through an inhomogeneous circumstellar medium or interstellar medium (ISM). Such phenomena mark the initial stages of the gradual merger of SN ejecta with and the enrichment of the surrounding ISM. Here we report on an investigation of this process through changes in the optical flux and morphology of several high-velocity ejecta knots located in the outskirts of the young core-collapse SN remnant Cassiopeia A using Hubble Space Telescope images. Examination of WFPC2 F675W and combined ACS F625W + F775W images taken between 1999 June and 2004 December of several dozen debris fragments in the remnant's northeast ejecta stream and along the remnant's eastern limb reveal substantial emission variations ("flickering") over timescales as short as nine months. Such widespread and rapid variability indicates knot scale lengths similar or equal to 10(15) cm and a highly inhomogeneous surrounding medium. We also identify a small percentage of ejecta knots located all around the remnant's outer periphery which show trailing emissions typically 0 ''.2-0 ''.7 in length aligned along the knot's direction of motion suggestive of knot ablation tails. We discuss the nature of these trailing emissions as they pertain to ablation cooling, knot disruption, and fragmentation, and draw comparisons to the emission "strings" seen in eta Car. Finally, we identify several tight clusters of small ejecta knots which resemble models of shock-induced fragmentation of larger SN ejecta knots caused by a high-velocity interaction with a lower density ambient medium

Pothole Reporting System

The purpose of this project is to create a pothole detection device that can be attached to the underside of a commercial vehicle. Potholes cost motorists around 6.4 billion dollars annually, thus demonstrating the need for a system to aid with the detection and reporting of potholes. The four systems we needed to consider for the implementation of this project were the power system, the sensing system, the data processing system, and the reporting and logging system. Power pulled from the vehicle will enable the sensors and data processing module. The data processing module will analyze the readings from the sensors and output pothole data to the logging and reporting system. The logging and reporting system, located on an android mobile device, will store the pothole locations on a cloud server

Mutations in Conserved Residues of the C. elegans microRNA Argonaute ALG-1 Identify Separable Functions in ALG-1 miRISC Loading and Target Repression

microRNAs function in diverse developmental and physiological processes by regulating target gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. ALG-1 is one of two Caenorhabditis elegans Argonautes (ALG-1 and ALG-2) that together are essential for microRNA biogenesis and function. Here, we report the identification of novel antimorphic (anti) alleles of ALG-1 as suppressors of lin-28(lf) precocious developmental phenotypes. The alg-1(anti) mutations broadly impair the function of many microRNAs and cause dosage-dependent phenotypes that are more severe than the complete loss of ALG-1. ALG-1(anti) mutant proteins are competent for promoting Dicer cleavage of microRNA precursors and for associating with and stabilizing microRNAs. However, our results suggest that ALG-1(anti) proteins may sequester microRNAs in immature and functionally deficient microRNA Induced Silencing Complexes (miRISCs), and hence compete with ALG-2 for access to functional microRNAs. Immunoprecipitation experiments show that ALG-1(anti) proteins display an increased association with Dicer and a decreased association with AIN-1/GW182. These findings suggest that alg-1(anti) mutations impair the ability of ALG-1 miRISC to execute a transition from Dicer-associated microRNA processing to AIN-1/GW182 associated effector function, and indicate an active role for ALG/Argonaute in mediating this transition

The Chemical Distribution in a Subluminous Type Ia Supernova: Hubble Space Telescope Images of the SN 1885 Remnant

SN 1885 was a probable subluminous SN Ia that occurred in the bulge of the Andromeda galaxy, M31, at a projected location 16\u27\u27 from the nucleus. Here we present and analyze Hubble Space Telescope images of the SN 1885 remnant seen in absorption against the M31 bulge via the resonance lines of Ca I, Ca II, Fe I, and Fe II. Viewed in Ca II H and K line absorption, the remnant appears as a nearly black circular spot with an outermost angular radius of 0.40\u27\u27 ± 0.025\u27\u27, implying a maximum linear radius of 1.52 ± 0.15 pc at M31\u27s estimated distance of 785 ± 30 kpc and hence a 120 yr average expansion velocity of 12,400 ± 1400 km s-1. The strongest Ca II absorption is organized in a broken ring structure with a radius of 0.2\u27\u27 (=6000 km s-1) with several apparent absorption clumps of an angular size around that of the image pixel scale of 0.05\u27\u27 (=1500 km s-1). Ca I and Fe I absorption structures appear similar except for a small Fe I absorption peak displaced 0.1\u27\u27 off-center of the Ca II structure by a projected velocity of about 3000 km s-1. Analyses of these images using off-center, delayed-detonation models suggest a low 56Ni production similar to the subluminous SN Ia explosion of SN 1986G. The strongly lopsided images of Ca I and Fe I can be understood as resulting from an aspherical chemical distribution, with the best agreement found using an off-center model viewed from an inclination of ~60°. The images require a central region of no or little Ca but with iron group elements indicative for burning under sufficiently high densities for electron capture to take place, i.e., burning prior to a significant preexpansion of the WD

A genome-wide RNAi screen identifies factors required for distinct stages of C-elegans piRNA biogenesis

In animals, piRNAs and their associated Piwi proteins guard germ cell genomes against mobile genetic elements via an RNAi-like mechanism. In Caenorhabditis elegans, 21U-RNAs comprise the piRNA class, and these collaborate with 22G RNAs via unclear mechanisms to discriminate self from nonself and selectively and heritably silence the latter. Recent work indicates that 21U-RNAs are post-transcriptional processing products of individual transcription units that produce similar to 26-nucleotide capped precursors. However, nothing is known of how the expression of precursors is controlled or how primary transcripts give rise to mature small RNAs. We conducted a genome-wide RNAi screen to identify components of the 21U biogenesis machinery. Screening by direct, quantitative PCR (qPCR)-based measurements of mature 21U-RNA levels, we identified 22 genes important for 21U-RNA production, termed TOFUs (Twenty-One-u Fouled Ups). We also identified seven genes that normally repress 21U production. By measuring mature 21U-RNA and precursor levels for the seven strongest hits from the screen, we assigned factors to discrete stages of 21U-RNA production. Our work identifies for the first time factors separately required for the transcription of 21U precursors and the processing of these precursors into mature 21U-RNAs, thereby providing a resource for studying the biogenesis of this important small RNA class

Genome-Wide Analysis of leafbladeless1-Regulated and Phased Small RNAs Underscores the Importance of the TAS3 ta-siRNA Pathway to Maize Development

Maize leafbladeless1 (lbl1) encodes a key component in the trans-acting short-interfering RNA (ta-siRNA) biogenesis pathway. Correlated with a great diversity in ta-siRNAs and the targets they regulate, the phenotypes conditioned by mutants perturbing this small RNA pathway vary extensively across species. Mutations in lbl1 result in severe developmental defects, giving rise to plants with radial, abaxialized leaves. To investigate the basis for this phenotype, we compared the small RNA content between wild-type and lbl1 seedling apices. We show that LBL1 affects the accumulation of small RNAs in all major classes, and reveal unexpected crosstalk between ta-siRNA biogenesis and other small RNA pathways regulating transposons. Interestingly, in contrast to data from other plant species, we found no evidence for the existence of phased siRNAs generated via the one-hit model. Our analysis identified nine TAS loci, all belonging to the conserved TAS3 family. Information from RNA deep sequencing and PARE analyses identified the tasiR-ARFs as the major functional ta-siRNAs in the maize vegetative apex where they regulate expression of AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR3 (ARF3) homologs. Plants expressing a tasiR-ARF insensitive arf3a transgene recapitulate the phenotype of lbl1, providing direct evidence that deregulation of ARF3 transcription factors underlies the developmental defects of maize ta-siRNA biogenesis mutants. The phenotypes of Arabidopsis and Medicago ta-siRNA mutants, while strikingly different, likewise result from misexpression of the tasiR-ARF target ARF3. Our data indicate that diversity in TAS pathways and their targets cannot fully account for the phenotypic differences conditioned by ta-siRNA biogenesis mutants across plant species. Instead, we propose that divergence in the gene networks downstream of the ARF3 transcription factors or the spatiotemporal pattern during leaf development in which these proteins act constitute key factors underlying the distinct contributions of the ta-siRNA pathway to development in maize, Arabidopsis, and possibly other plant species as well

Quantification of anandamide, oleoylethanolamide and palmitoylethanolamide in rodent brain tissue using high performance liquid chromatography–electrospray mass spectroscopy

AbstractReported concentrations for endocannabinoids and related lipids in biological tissues can vary greatly; therefore, methods used to quantify these compounds need to be validated. This report describes a method to quantify anandamide (AEA), oleoylethanolamide (OEA) and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) from rodent brain tissue. Analytes were extracted using acetonitrile without further sample clean up, resolved on a C18 reverse-phase column using a gradient mobile phase and detected using electrospray ionization in positive selected ion monitoring mode on a single quadrupole mass spectrometer. The method produced high recovery rates for AEA, OEA and PEA, ranging from 98.1% to 106.2%, 98.5% to 102.2% and 85.4% to 89.5%, respectively. The method resulted in adequate sensitivity with a lower limit of quantification for AEA, OEA and PEA of 1.4ng/mL, 0.6ng/mL and 0.5ng/mL, respectively. The method was reproducible as intraday and interday accuracies and precisions were under 15%. This method was suitable for quantifying AEA, OEA and PEA from rat brain following pharmacological inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase