Smithsonian Biodiversity Outreach Program in Gabon

This report was prepared for the Smithsonian Institution\u27s Monitoring and Assessment of Biodiversity Program (MAB). Our project created lesson plans regarding ecological problems in Gabon and the research of the Smithsonian to mitigate these problems. The report describes the methods used in creating the lesson plans, and an analysis of the structure, content, activities developed, and recommendations for future lesson plans. The implementation of these lesson plans will provide the Gabonese youth awareness of the ecological issues of their country as well as knowledge of Smithsonian Institution research

Submicron Structures from Organometallic Precursors

The goal of this project was to fabricate submicron structures by thermal degradation of organometallic compounds, iron pentacarbonyl and nickelocene. Structures were analyzed before and after degradation using XRD and SEM. After degradation at 400C, both organometallics yielded a mixture of metal and metal oxide. Degradation products of organometallic mixtures typically contained a combination of oxides. The fraction and oxide type depended on the ratio of the organometallics. Microscopic examination revealed that the degradation products may assemble into sub-micron fibers

Contrasting platinum-group mineral assemblages from two different podiform chromitite localities in the Pindos ophiolite complex, Greece

Platinum-group minerals (PGM) have been identified in chromitite from two localities in the Pindos ophiolite complex in Greece, Milia and Korydallos. At Milia, the PGM are predominantly Os, Ir, and Ru, i.e., IPGE-bearing, as is typical of many chromitites in ophiolitic complexes; they consist mainly of IPGE alloys and sulfarsenides rather than laurite. At Korydallos, the assemblage is dominated by Pt- and Pd-bearing PGM characteristic of rarer Pt- and Pd-enriched ophiolites. These PGM include Pt–Pd alloys with the base metals Ni, Cu, and Fe, and traces of Au, PGM arsenides and sulfarsenides, sperrylite and members of hollingworthite – irarsite – platarsite solid-solution series. The base-metal-enriched minerals at Korydallos include a Cu-rich Pd–Pt alloy and a Ni–Fe alloy with 1–2% Pd. The association of Pt- and Pd-bearing PGM with base metals suggests that these PGE were collected by small quantities of immiscible sulfide liquid. The PGM are irregular in shape and are located almost exclusively in the altered silicate matrix interstitial to the chromite grains, on the edges of chromite grains, and in veins of silicate cross-cutting chromite. We suggest that the IPGE-bearing and Pt- and Pd-bearing PGM alloys and sulfarsenides are secondary and were formed by loss of sulfur and gain of arsenic during serpentinization. A further stage of alteration produced oxides and hydroxides of Pd around the PGE-bearing alloys and arsenides

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field