G-TRACE: rapid Gal4-based cell lineage analysis in Drosophila.

We combined Gal4-UAS and the FLP recombinase-FRT and fluorescent reporters to generate cell clones that provide spatial, temporal and genetic information about the origins of individual cells in Drosophila melanogaster. We named this combination the Gal4 technique for real-time and clonal expression (G-TRACE). The approach should allow for screening and the identification of real-time and lineage-traced expression patterns on a genomic scale

Fostering global data sharing: Highlighting the recommendations of the Research Data Alliance COVID-19 working group

© 2020 Austin CC et al. The systemic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic require cross-disciplinary collaboration in a global and timely fashion. Such collaboration needs open research practices and the sharing of research outputs, such as data and code, thereby facilitating research and research reproducibility and timely collaboration beyond borders. The Research Data Alliance COVID-19 Working Group recently published a set of recommendations and guidelines on data sharing and related best practices for COVID-19 research. These guidelines include recommendations for researchers, policymakers, funders, publishers and infrastructure providers from the perspective of different domains (Clinical Medicine, Omics, Epidemiology, Social Sciences, Community Participation, Indigenous Peoples, Research Software, Legal and Ethical Considerations). Several overarching themes have emerged from this document such as the need to balance the creation of data adherent to FAIR principles (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable), with the need for quick data release; the use of trustworthy research data repositories; the use of well-annotated data with meaningful metadata; and practices of documenting methods and software. The resulting document marks an unprecedented cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral, and cross-jurisdictional effort authored by over 160 experts from around the globe. This letter summarises key points of the Recommendations and Guidelines, highlights the relevant findings, shines a spotlight on the process, and suggests how these developments can be leveraged by the wider scientific community

Chancenorientierte unternehmerische Nachhaltigkeit als Treiber der Internationalisierung von KMU

Zusammenfassung Unternehmerische Nachhaltigkeit hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten weltweit an Bedeutung gewonnen. Allerdings haben viele Unternehmen, besonders auch KMU, eine defensive Haltung hinsichtlich nachhaltiger Unternehmensführung und sehen sie als Notwendigkeit, statt als Chance. Vor diesem Hintergrund geht der Beitrag der Frage nach, inwieweit Chancen gerichtete Nachhaltigkeitsorientierung für KMU einen Wettbewerbsvorteil darstellen kann, der die Internationalisierung antreibt. Die qualitativ empirische Analyse beruht auf einem Good-Practice Fall eines Mittelbetriebs im Bereich biologische Genussmittel mit einer starken Nachhaltigkeitsorientierung. Sein Internationalisierungsprozess wird schrittweise analysiert und die Bedeutung der Nachhaltigkeitsorientierung herausgearbeitet. Es zeigt sich, dass unternehmerische Nachhaltigkeit für KMU einen wesentlichen Internationalisierungsauslöser und stabilen Wettbewerbsvorteil darstellen kann, wenn sie umfassend, chancenorientiert und authentisch ist. Gleichzeitig prägt sie den Internationalisierungsprozess von der Marktwahl über den Markteintritt bis zur Marktentwicklung. Abstract Business sustainability has gained in importance worldwide over the last decades. However, many companies, especially SMEs, take up a defensive stance on business sustainability and perceive it as a necessity rather than an opportunity. With this background in mind, the article analyzes, if and how opportunity-targeted sustainability orientation can represent a competitive advantage that drives the internationalization of SMEs. The qualitative empirical analyses is based on a good-practice case of a medium sized enterprise in the organic food industry with a strong sustainability orientation. Its process of internationalization is analyzed stepwise to carve out the importance of its sustainability orientation. The analysis shows that business sustainability can represent a fundamental trigger for internationalization and robust competitive advantage, when it is pursued in a comprehensive, opportunity-oriented and authentic way. Simultaneously, it shapes the internationalization process, from market choice to market entry and market development

Determining the orientation angle of directional leads for deep brain stimulation using computed tomography and digital x-ray imaging: A phantom study

Purpose: Orientating the angle of directional leads for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in an axial plane introduces a new degree of freedom that is indicated by embedded anisotropic directional markers. Our aim was to develop algorithms to determine lead orientation angles from computed tomography (CT) and stereotactic x-ray imaging using standard clinical protocols, and subsequently assess the accuracy of both methods. Methods: In CT the anisotropic marker artifact was taken as a signature of the lead orientation angle and analyzed using discrete Fourier transform of circular intensity profiles. The orientation angle was determined from phase angles at a frequency 2/360(circle) and corrected for aberrations at oblique leads. In x-ray imaging, frontal and lateral images were registered to stereotactic space and sub-images containing directional markers were extracted. These images were compared with projection images of an identically located virtual marker at different orientation angles. A similarity index was calculated and used to determine the lead orientation angle. Both methods were tested using epoxy phantoms containing directional leads (Cartesia(TM), Boston Scientific, Marlborough, USA) with known orientation. Anthropomorphic phantoms were used to compare both methods for DBS cases. Results: Mean deviation between CT and x-ray was 1.5(circle) +/- 3.6(circle) (range: - 2.3(circle) to 7.9(circle)) for epoxy phantoms and 3.6(circle) +/- 7.1(circle) (range: - 5.6(circle) to 14.6(circle)) for anthropomorphic phantoms. After correction for imperfections in the epoxy phantoms, the mean deviation from ground truth was 0.0(circle) +/- 5.0(circle) (range: - 12(circle) to 14(circle)) for x-ray. For CT the results depended on the polar angle of the lead in the scanner. Mean deviation was - 0.3(circle) +/- 1.9(circle) (range: - 4.6(circle) to 6.6(circle)) or 1.6(circle) +/- 8.9(circle) (range: - 23(circle) to 34(circle)) for polar angles 40(circle). Conclusions: The results show that both imaging modalities can be used to determine lead orientation angles with high accuracy. CT is superior to x-ray imaging, but oblique leads (polar angle > 40(circle)) show limited precision due to the current design of the directional marker. (C)2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicin

G-TRACE: rapid Gal4-based cell lineage analysis in Drosophila

We combine Gal4/UAS, FLP/FRT and fluorescent reporters to generate cell clones that provide spatial, temporal, and genetic information about the origins of individual cells in Drosophila. We name this combination the Gal4 Technique for Real-time and Clonal Expression (G-TRACE). The approach should allow for screening and the identification of real-time and lineage-traced expression patterns on a genomic scale

Expression-Based Cell Lineage Analysis in Drosophila Through a Course-Based Research Experience for Early Undergraduates.

A variety of genetic techniques have been devised to determine cell lineage relationships during tissue development. Some of these systems monitor cell lineages spatially and/or temporally without regard to gene expression by the cells, whereas others correlate gene expression with the lineage under study. The GAL4 Technique for Real-time and Clonal Expression (G-TRACE) system allows for rapid, fluorescent protein-based visualization of both current and past GAL4 expression patterns and is therefore amenable to genome-wide expression-based lineage screens. Here we describe the results from such a screen, performed by undergraduate students of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Undergraduate Research Consortium for Functional Genomics (URCFG) and high school summer scholars as part of a discovery-based education program. The results of the screen, which reveal novel expression-based lineage patterns within the brain, the imaginal disc epithelia, and the hematopoietic lymph gland, have been compiled into the G-TRACE Expression Database (GED), an online resource for use by the Drosophila research community. The impact of this discovery-based research experience on student learning gains was assessed independently and shown to be greater than that of similar programs conducted elsewhere. Furthermore, students participating in the URCFG showed considerably higher STEM retention rates than UCLA STEM students that did not participate in the URCFG, as well as STEM students nationwide