Sample return of interstellar matter (SARIM)

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Synergies between interstellar dust and heliospheric science with an Interstellar Probe

We discuss the synergies between heliospheric and dust science, the open science questions, the technological endeavors and programmatic aspects that are important to maintain or develop in the decade to come. In particular, we illustrate how we can use interstellar dust in the solar system as a tracer for the (dynamic) heliosphere properties, and emphasize the fairly unexplored, but potentially important science question of the role of cosmic dust in heliospheric and astrospheric physics. We show that an Interstellar Probe mission with a dedicated dust suite would bring unprecedented advances to interstellar dust research, and can also contribute-through measuring dust - to heliospheric science. This can, in particular, be done well if we work in synergy with other missions inside the solar system, thereby using multiple vantage points in space to measure the dust as it `rolls' into the heliosphere. Such synergies between missions inside the solar system and far out are crucial for disentangling the spatially and temporally varying dust flow. Finally, we highlight the relevant instrumentation and its suitability for contributing to finding answers to the research questions.Comment: 18 pages, 7 Figures, 5 Tables. Originally submitted as white paper for the National Academies Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics 2024-203

Integrative molecular bioinformatics study of human adrenocortical tumors : microRNA, tissue-specific target prediction, and pathway analysis.

MicroRNAs (miRs) are involved in the pathogenesis of several neoplasms; however, there are no data on their expression patterns and possible roles in adrenocortical tumors. Our objective was to study adrenocortical tumors by an integrative bioinformatics analysis involving miR and transcriptomics profiling, pathway analysis, and a novel, tissue-specific miR target prediction approach. Thirty-six tissue samples including normal adrenocortical tissues, benign adenomas, and adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) were studied by simultaneous miR and mRNA profiling. A novel data-processing software was used to identify all predicted miR-mRNA interactions retrieved from PicTar, TargetScan, and miRBase. Tissue-specific target prediction was achieved by filtering out mRNAs with undetectable expression and searching for mRNA targets with inverse expression alterations as their regulatory miRs. Target sets and significant microarray data were subjected to Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Six miRs with significantly different expression were found. miR-184 and miR-503 showed significantly higher, whereas miR-511 and miR-214 showed significantly lower expression in ACCs than in other groups. Expression of miR-210 was significantly lower in cortisol-secreting adenomas than in ACCs. By calculating the difference between dCT(miR-511) and dCT(miR-503) (delta cycle threshold), ACCs could be distinguished from benign adenomas with high sensitivity and specificity. Pathway analysis revealed the possible involvement of G2/M checkpoint damage in ACC pathogenesis. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing miR expression patterns and pathway analysis in sporadic adrenocortical tumors. miR biomarkers may be helpful for the diagnosis of adrenocortical malignancy. This tissue-specific target prediction approach may be used in other tumors too

Improving Solubility Of\u3cem\u3e Shewanella Oneidensis\u3c/em\u3e MR-1 And\u3cem\u3e Clostridium Thermocellum\u3c/em\u3e JW-20 Proteins Expressed Into\u3cem\u3e Esherichia Coli\u3c/em\u3e

Low solubility of proteins overexpressed in E. coli is a frequent problem in high-throughput structural genomics. To improve solubility of proteins from mesophilic Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and thermophilic Clostridium thermocellum JW20, an approach was attempted that included a fusion of the target protein to a maltose-binding protein (MBP) and a decrease of induction temperature. The MBP was selected as the most efficient solubilizing carrier when compared to a glutathione S-transferase and a Nus A protein. A tobacco etch virus (TEV) protease recognition site was introduced between fused proteins using a double polymerase-chain reaction and four primers. In this way, 79 S. oneidensis proteins have been expressed in one case with an N-terminal 30-residue tag and in another case as a fusion protein with MBP. A foreign tag might significantly affect the properties of the target polypeptide. At 37 °C and 18 °C induction temperatures, only 5 and 17 tagged proteins were soluble, respectively. In fusion with MBP 4, 34, and 38 proteins were soluble upon induction at 37°, 28°, and 18 °C, respectively. The MBP is assumed to increase stability and solubility of a target protein by changing both the mechanism and the cooperativity of folding/unfolding. The 66 C. thermocellum proteins were expressed as fusion proteins with MBP. Induction at 37°, 28°, and 18 °C produced 34, 57, and 60 soluble proteins, respectively. The higher solubility of C. thermocellum proteins in comparison with the S. oneidensis proteins under similar conditions of induction correlates with the thermophilicity of the host. The two-factor Wilkinson−Harrison statistical model was used to identify soluble and insoluble proteins. Theoretical and experimental data showed good agreement for S. oneidensis proteins; however, the model failed to identify soluble/insoluble Clostridium proteins. A suggestion has been made that the Wilkinson−Harrison model is not applicable to C. thermocellum proteins because it did not account for the peculiarities of protein sequences from thermophiles

Fragments from the Origins of the Solar System and our Interstellar Locale (FOSSIL): A Discovery Mission Concept

International audienc