C-terminal processing of yeast Spt7 occurs in the absence of functional SAGA complex

Background  

Spt7 is an integral component of the multi-subunit SAGA complex that is required for the expression of ~10% of yeast genes. Two forms of Spt7 have been identified, the second of which is truncated at its C-terminus and found in the SAGA-like (SLIK) complex.     

Acoustic cues to lexical segmentation: a study of resynthesized speech

It has been posited that the role of prosody in lexical segmentation is elevated when the speech signal is degraded or unreliable. Using predictions from Cutler and Norris' [J. Exp. Psychol. Hum. Percept. Perform. 14, 113-121 (1988)] metrical segmentation strategy hypothesis as a framework, this investigation examined how individual suprasegmental and segmental cues to syllabic stress contribute differentially to the recognition of strong and weak syllables for the purpose of lexical segmentation. Syllabic contrastivity was reduced in resynthesized phrases by systematically (i) flattening the fundamental frequency (F0) contours, (ii) equalizing vowel durations, (iii) weakening strong vowels, (iv) combining the two suprasegmental cues, i.e., F0 and duration, and (v) combining the manipulation of all cues. Results indicated that, despite similar decrements in overall intelligibility, F0 flattening and the weakening of strong vowels had a greater impact on lexical segmentation than did equalizing vowel duration. Both combined-cue conditions resulted in greater decrements in intelligibility, but with no additional negative impact on lexical segmentation. The results support the notion of F0 variation and vowel quality as primary conduits for stress-based segmentation and suggest that the effectiveness of stress-based segmentation with degraded speech must be investigated relative to the suprasegmental and segmental impoverishments occasioned by each particular degradation.     

A Zinc Oxide Carbon Nanotube Based Sensor for In Situ Monitoring of Hydrogen Peroxide in Swimming Pools

Zinc oxide nanoparticles were tethered to carbon nanotubes to form an electrochemical sensing composite, which was characterized using transmission electron microscopy, and X‐ray photoelectron and attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopies. The sensor′s electrocatalytic response for measuring hydrogen peroxide was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in a dynamic, well defined swimming pool environment. A wide, linear response in the concentration range of 0.025–7.0 mM at a potential of ?0.360 V was shown, with rapid response time (<5 s). The sensor had excellent reproducibility, exhibited stability and selectivity, and was able to measure concentrations in a dynamic environment as they varied.     

Diketopyrrolopyrrole‐Porphyrin Conjugates with High Two‐Photon Absorption and Singlet Oxygen Generation for Two‐Photon Photodynamic Therapy

Two‐photon photodynamic therapy is a promising therapeutic method which requires the development of sensitizers with efficient two‐photon absorption and singlet‐oxygen generation. Reported here are two new diketopyrrolopyrrole‐porphyrin conjugates as robust two‐photon absorbing dyes with high two‐photon absorption cross‐sections within the therapeutic window. Furthermore, for the first time the singlet‐oxygen generation efficiency of diketopyrrolopyrrole‐containing systems is investigated. A preliminary study on cell culture showed efficient two‐photon induced phototoxicity.     

Bioanalytical chemistry of cytokines – A review

Cytokines are bioactive proteins produced by many different cells of the immune system. Due to their role in different inflammatory disease states and maintaining homeostasis, there is enormous clinical interest in the quantitation of cytokines. The typical standard methods for quantitation of cytokines are immunoassay-based techniques including enzyme-linked immusorbent assays (ELISA) and bead-based immunoassays read by either standard or modified flow cytometers. A review of recent developments in analytical methods for measurements of cytokine proteins is provided. This review briefly covers cytokine biology and the analysis challenges associated with measurement of these biomarker proteins for understanding both health and disease. New techniques applied to immunoassay-based assays are presented along with the uses of aptamers, electrochemistry, mass spectrometry, optical resonator-based methods. Methods used for elucidating the release of cytokines from single cells as well as in vivo collection methods are described.     

High-throughput characterization of sediment organic matter by pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and multivariate curve resolution: A promising analytical tool in (paleo)limnology

Molecular-level chemical information about organic matter (OM) in sediments helps to establish the sources of OM and the prevalent degradation/diagenetic processes, both essential for understanding the cycling of carbon (C) and of the elements associated with OM (toxic trace metals and nutrients) in lake ecosystems. Ideally, analytical methods for characterizing OM should allow high sample throughput, consume small amounts of sample and yield relevant chemical information, which are essential for multidisciplinary, high-temporal resolution and/or large spatial scale investigations. We have developed a high-throughput analytical method based on pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and automated data processing to characterize sedimentary OM in sediments. Our method consumes 200 μg of freeze-dried and ground sediment sample. Pyrolysis was performed at 450 °C, which was found to avoid degradation of specific biomarkers (e.g., lignin compounds, fresh carbohydrates/cellulose) compared to 650 °C, which is in the range of temperatures commonly applied for environmental samples. The optimization was conducted using the top ten sediment samples of an annually resolved sediment record (containing 16–18% and 1.3–1.9% of total carbon and nitrogen, respectively). Several hundred pyrolytic compound peaks were detected of which over 200 were identified, which represent different classes of organic compounds (i.e., n-alkanes, n-alkenes, 2-ketones, carboxylic acids, carbohydrates, proteins, other N compounds, (methoxy)phenols, (poly)aromatics, chlorophyll and steroids/hopanoids). Technical reproducibility measured as relative standard deviation of the identified peaks in triplicate analyses was 5.5 ± 4.3%, with 90% of the RSD values within 10% and 98% within 15%. Finally, a multivariate calibration model was calculated between the pyrolytic degradation compounds and the sediment depth (i.e., sediment age), which is a function of degradation processes and changes in OM source type. This allowed validation of the Py–GC/MS dataset against fundamental processes involved in OM cycling in aquatic ecosystems.     

High resolution mass spectrometry based profiling of diet-related deoxyribonucleic acid adducts

Exposure of DNA to endo- and exogenous DNA binding chemicals can result in the formation of DNA adducts and is believed to be the first step in chemically induced carcinogenesis. DNA adductomics is a relatively new field of research which studies the formation of known and unknown DNA adducts in DNA due to exposure to genotoxic chemicals. In this study, a new UHPLC-HRMS(/MS)-based DNA adduct detection method was developed and validated. Four targeted DNA adducts, which all have been linked to dietary genotoxicity, were included in the described method; O⁶-methylguanine (O⁶-MeG), O⁶-carboxymethylguanine (O⁶-CMG), pyrimidopurinone (M1G) and methylhydroxypropanoguanine (CroG). As a supplementary tool for DNA adductomics, a DNA adduct database, which currently contains 123 different diet-related DNA adducts, was constructed. By means of the newly developed method and database, all 4 targeted DNA adducts and 32 untargeted DNA adducts could be detected in different DNA samples. The obtained results clearly demonstrate the merit of the described method for both targeted and untargeted DNA adduct detection in vitro and in vivo, whilst the diet-related DNA adduct database can distinctly facilitate data interpretation.     

Teachers Describe Epistemologies of Science Instruction Through Q Methodology

Creating scientifically literate students is a common goal among educational stakeholders. An understanding of nature of science is an important component of scientific literacy in K‐12 science education. Q methodology was used to investigate the opinions of preservice and in‐service teachers on how they intend to teach or currently teach science. Q methodology is a measurement tool designed to capture personal beliefs. Participants included 40 preservice and in‐service elementary and secondary science teachers who sorted 40 self‐referential statements regarding science instruction. The results identified three epistemologies toward teaching science: A Changing World, My Beliefs, and Tried and True. Participants with the A Changing World epistemology believe evidence is reliable, scientific knowledge is generated in multiple ways, and science changes in light of new evidence. The My Beliefs epistemology reflects that scientific knowledge is subject to change due to embedded bias, science is affected by culture and religion, and evolution should not be taught in the classroom. The Tried and True epistemology views a scientific method as an exact method to prove science, believes experiments are crucial for scientific discoveries, absolute truth exists in scientific knowledge, and society and cultural factors can be eliminated from investigations. Implications for preservice teacher education programs and in‐service teacher professional development are addressed.