BioAssay Research Database (BARD): chemical biology and probe-development enabled by structured metadata and result types.

BARD, the BioAssay Research Database (https://bard.nih.gov/) is a public database and suite of tools developed to provide access to bioassay data produced by the NIH Molecular Libraries Program (MLP). Data from 631 MLP projects were migrated to a new structured vocabulary designed to capture bioassay data in a formalized manner, with particular emphasis placed on the description of assay protocols. New data can be submitted to BARD with a user-friendly set of tools that assist in the creation of appropriately formatted datasets and assay definitions. Data published through the BARD application program interface (API) can be accessed by researchers using web-based query tools or a desktop client. Third-party developers wishing to create new tools can use the API to produce stand-alone tools or new plug-ins that can be integrated into BARD. The entire BARD suite of tools therefore supports three classes of researcher: those who wish to publish data, those who wish to mine data for testable hypotheses, and those in the developer community who wish to build tools that leverage this carefully curated chemical biology resource.

Development of a digital fluorescence sensing technique to monitor the response of macrophages to external hypoxia.

Oxygen plays a very important role in living cells. The intracellular level of oxygen is under tight control, as even a small deviation from normal oxygen level affects major cellular metabolic processes and is likely to result in cellular damage or cell death. This paper describes the use of the oxygen sensitive fluorescent dye tris (1,10-phenanthroline) ruthenium chloride [Ru(phen)(3)] as an intracellular oxygen probe. Ru(phen)(3) exhibits high photostability, a relatively high excitation coefficient at 450 nm (18 000 M(-1) cm(-1)), high emission quantum yield ( approximately 0.5), and a large Stoke shift (peak emission at 604 nm). It is effectively quenched by molecular oxygen due to its long excited state lifetime of around 1 micros. The luminescence of Ru(phen)(3) decreases with increasing oxygen concentrations and the oxygen levels are determined using the Stern-Volmer equation. In our studies, J774 Murine Macrophages are loaded with Ru(phen)(3), which passively permeates into the cells. Fluorescence spectroscopy and digital fluorescence imaging microscopy are used to observe the cells and monitor their response to changing oxygen levels. The luminescence intensity of the cells decreases when exposed to hypoxia and recovers once normal oxygen conditions are restored. The analytical properties of the probe and its application in monitoring the cellular response to hypoxia are described.

Women and food processing in Malawi

An interdisciplinary team of investigators (one rural sociologist; one agricultural engineer; and one human nutritionist) carried out a study on women and food processing in three selected areas: Chilumbu in the Northern Region; Nsaru in the Central Region; and Mulanje in the Southern region. Results indicate that food crop production and processing is predominantly in the hands of women but lack of available improved technologies constrain production