Design and testing of ultrasound probe adapters for a robotic imaging platform.

Medical imaging-based triage is a critical tool for emergency medicine in both civilian and military settings. Ultrasound imaging can be used to rapidly identify free fluid in abdominal and thoracic cavities which could necessitate immediate surgical intervention. However, proper ultrasound image capture requires a skilled ultrasonography technician who is likely unavailable at the point of injury where resources are limited. Instead, robotics and computer vision technology can simplify image acquisition. As a first step towards this larger goal, here, we focus on the development of prototypes for ultrasound probe securement using a robotics platform. The ability of four probe adapter technologies to precisely capture images at anatomical locations, repeatedly, and with different ultrasound transducer types were evaluated across more than five scoring criteria. Testing demonstrated two of the adapters outperformed the traditional robot gripper and manual image capture, with a compact, rotating design compatible with wireless imaging technology being most suitable for use at the point of injury. Next steps will integrate the robotic platform with computer vision and deep learning image interpretation models to automate image capture and diagnosis. This will lower the skill threshold needed for medical imaging-based triage, enabling this procedure to be available at or near the point of injury.

Verification and Validation of Lower Body Negative Pressure as a Non-Invasive Bioengineering Tool for Testing Technologies for Monitoring Human Hemorrhage.

Since hemorrhage is a leading cause of preventable death in both civilian and military settings, the development of advanced decision support monitoring capabilities is necessary to promote improved clinical outcomes. The emergence of lower body negative pressure (LBNP) has provided a bioengineering technology for inducing progressive reductions in central blood volume shown to be accurate as a model for the study of the early compensatory stages of hemorrhage. In this context, the specific aim of this study was to provide for the first time a systematic technical evaluation to meet a commonly accepted engineering standard based on the FDA-recognized Standard for Assessing Credibility of Modeling through Verification and Validation (V&V) for Medical Devices (ASME standard V&V 40) specifically highlighting LBNP as a valuable resource for the safe study of hemorrhage physiology in humans. As an experimental tool, evidence is presented that LBNP is credible, repeatable, and validated as an analog for the study of human hemorrhage physiology compared to actual blood loss. The LBNP tool can promote the testing and development of advanced monitoring algorithms and evaluating wearable sensors with the goal of improving clinical outcomes during use in emergency medical settings.

Acinetobase: the comprehensive database and repository of Acinetobacter strains.

Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the most problematic nosocomial pathogens that can efficiently thrive within hospital settings, mainly due to resistances toward antibiotics, desiccation, disinfectants, human serum and oxidative stress. Recently, increased resistance against last-resort antibiotics earns this bacterium the highest priority concern classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. An obvious hallmark of this bacterium is the high heterogeneity observed among A. baumannii isolates, with a limited core genome. This feature complexifies the study of A. baumannii bacteria as an entity, subsequently reflected in a diversity of phenotypes of not only antimicrobial and environmental resistance but also virulence. A high degree of genome plasticity, along with the use of a limited subset of established strains, can lead to strain-specific observations, decreasing the global understanding of this pathogenic agent. Phenotypic variability of A. baumannii strains is easily observable such as with the macrocolony morphologies, in vitro and in vivo virulence, natural competence level, production of different capsular polysaccharide structures and cellular densities. Some strains encode an extensive amount of virulence factors, while others, including the established strains, lack several key ones. The lack/excess of genes or specific physiological processes might interfere with in vivo and in vitro experiments, thus providing a limited impact on the global understanding of Acinetobacter bacteria. As an answer to the high heterogeneity among A. baumannii strains, we propose a first comprehensive database that includes the bacterial strains and the associated phenotypic and genetic data. This new repository, freely accessible to the entire scientific community, allows selecting the best bacterial isolate(s) related to any biological question, using an efficient and fast exchange platform. Database URL: https://acinetobase.vib.be/.

DNA passes through cohesin's hinge as well as its Smc3-kleisin interface.

The ring model proposes that sister chromatid cohesion is mediated by co-entrapment of sister DNAs inside a single tripartite cohesin ring. The model explains how Scc1 cleavage triggers anaphase but has hitherto only been rigorously tested using small circular mini-chromosomes in yeast, where covalently circularizing the ring by crosslinking its three interfaces induces catenation of individual and sister DNAs. If the model applies to real chromatids, then the ring must have a DNA entry gate essential for mitosis. Whether this is situated at the Smc3/Scc1 or Smc1/Smc3 hinge interface is an open question. We have previously demonstrated DNA entrapment by cohesin in vitro (Collier et al., 2020). Here we show that cohesin in fact possesses two DNA gates, one at the Smc3/Scc1 interface and a second at the Smc1/3 hinge. Unlike the Smc3/Scc1 interface, passage of DNAs through SMC hinges depends on both Scc2 and Scc3, a pair of regulatory subunits necessary for entrapment in vivo. This property together with the lethality caused by locking this interface but not that between Smc3 and Scc1 in vivo suggests that passage of DNAs through the hinge is essential for building sister chromatid cohesion. Passage of DNAs through the Smc3/Scc1 interface is necessary for cohesin's separase-independent release from chromosomes and may therefore largely serve as an exit gate.

The alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist GTS-21 engages the glucagon-like peptide-1 incretin hormone axis to lower levels of blood glucose in db/db mice.

AIM: To establish if alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) agonist GTS-21 exerts a blood glucose-lowering action in db/db mice, and to test if this action requires coordinate α7nAChR and GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) stimulation by GTS-21 and endogenous GLP-1, respectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood glucose levels were measured during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) using db/db mice administered intraperitoneal GTS-21. Plasma GLP-1, peptide tyrosine tyrosine 1-36 (PYY1-36), glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), glucagon, and insulin levels were measured by ELISA. A GLP-1R-mediated action of GTS-21 that is secondary to α7nAChR stimulation was evaluated using α7nAChR and GLP-1R knockout (KO) mice, or by co-administration of GTS-21 with the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, sitagliptin, or the GLP-1R antagonist, exendin (9-39). Insulin sensitivity was assessed in an insulin tolerance test. RESULTS: Single or multiple dose GTS-21 (0.5-8.0 mg/kg) acted in a dose-dependent manner to lower levels of blood glucose in the OGTT using 10-14 week-old male and female db/db mice. This action of GTS-21 was reproduced by the α7nAChR agonist, PNU-282987, was enhanced by sitagliptin, was counteracted by exendin (9-39), and was absent in α7nAChR and GLP-1R KO mice. Plasma GLP-1, PYY1-36, GIP, glucagon, and insulin levels increased in response to GTS-21, but insulin sensitivity, body weight, and food intake were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: α7nAChR agonists improve oral glucose tolerance in db/db mice. This action is contingent to coordinate α7nAChR and GLP-1R stimulation. Thus α7nAChR agonists administered in combination with sitagliptin might serve as a new treatment for type 2 diabetes.

Unipept Visualizations: an interactive visualization library for biological data.

SUMMARY: The Unipept Visualizations library is a JavaScript package to generate interactive visualizations of both hierarchical and non-hierarchical quantitative data. It provides four different visualizations: a sunburst, a treemap, a treeview and a heatmap. Every visualization is fully configurable, supports TypeScript and uses the excellent D3.js library. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The Unipept Visualizations library is available for download on NPM: https://npmjs.com/unipept-visualizations. All source code is freely available from GitHub under the MIT license: https://github.com/unipept/unipept-visualizations.

Folding of cohesin's coiled coil is important for Scc2/4-induced association with chromosomes.

Cohesin's association with and translocation along chromosomal DNAs depend on an ATP hydrolysis cycle driving the association and subsequent release of DNA. This involves DNA being 'clamped' by Scc2 and ATP-dependent engagement of cohesin's Smc1 and Smc3 head domains. Scc2's replacement by Pds5 abrogates cohesin's ATPase and has an important role in halting DNA loop extrusion. The ATPase domains of all SMC proteins are separated from their hinge dimerisation domains by 50-nm-long coiled coils, which have been observed to zip up along their entire length and fold around an elbow, thereby greatly shortening the distance between hinges and ATPase heads. Whether folding exists in vivo or has any physiological importance is not known. We present here a cryo-EM structure of the apo form of cohesin that reveals the structure of folded and zipped-up coils in unprecedented detail and shows that Scc2 can associate with Smc1's ATPase head even when it is fully disengaged from that of Smc3. Using cysteine-specific crosslinking, we show that cohesin's coiled coils are frequently folded in vivo, including when cohesin holds sister chromatids together. Moreover, we describe a mutation (SMC1D588Y) within Smc1's hinge that alters how Scc2 and Pds5 interact with Smc1's hinge and that enables Scc2 to support loading in the absence of its normal partner Scc4. The mutant phenotype of loading without Scc4 is only explicable if loading depends on an association between Scc2/4 and cohesin's hinge, which in turn requires coiled coil folding.

AutoSpill is a principled framework that simplifies the analysis of multichromatic flow cytometry data.

Compensating in flow cytometry is an unavoidable challenge in the data analysis of fluorescence-based flow cytometry. Even the advent of spectral cytometry cannot circumvent the spillover problem, with spectral unmixing an intrinsic part of such systems. The calculation of spillover coefficients from single-color controls has remained essentially unchanged since its inception, and is increasingly limited in its ability to deal with high-parameter flow cytometry. Here, we present AutoSpill, an alternative method for calculating spillover coefficients. The approach combines automated gating of cells, calculation of an initial spillover matrix based on robust linear regression, and iterative refinement to reduce error. Moreover, autofluorescence can be compensated out, by processing it as an endogenous dye in an unstained control. AutoSpill uses single-color controls and is compatible with common flow cytometry software. AutoSpill allows simpler and more robust workflows, while reducing the magnitude of compensation errors in high-parameter flow cytometry.

Transport of DNA within cohesin involves clamping on top of engaged heads by Scc2 and entrapment within the ring by Scc3.

In addition to extruding DNA loops, cohesin entraps within its SMC-kleisin ring (S-K) individual DNAs during G1 and sister DNAs during S-phase. All three activities require related hook-shaped proteins called Scc2 and Scc3. Using thiol-specific crosslinking we provide rigorous proof of entrapment activity in vitro. Scc2 alone promotes entrapment of DNAs in the E-S and E-K compartments, between ATP-bound engaged heads and the SMC hinge and associated kleisin, respectively. This does not require ATP hydrolysis nor is it accompanied by entrapment within S-K rings, which is a slower process requiring Scc3. Cryo-EM reveals that DNAs transported into E-S/E-K compartments are 'clamped' in a sub-compartment created by Scc2's association with engaged heads whose coiled coils are folded around their elbow. We suggest that clamping may be a recurrent feature of cohesin complexes active in loop extrusion and that this conformation precedes the S-K entrapment required for sister chromatid cohesion.

Scc2 counteracts a Wapl-independent mechanism that releases cohesin from chromosomes during G1.

Cohesin's association with chromosomes is determined by loading dependent on the Scc2/4 complex and release due to Wapl. We show here that Scc2 also actively maintains cohesin on chromosomes during G1 in S. cerevisiae cells. It does so by blocking a Wapl-independent release reaction that requires opening the cohesin ring at its Smc3/Scc1 interface as well as the D loop of Smc1's ATPase. The Wapl-independent release mechanism is switched off as cells activate Cdk1 and enter G2/M and cannot be turned back on without cohesin's dissociation from chromosomes. The latter phenomenon enabled us to show that in the absence of release mechanisms, cohesin rings that have already captured DNA in a Scc2-dependent manner before replication no longer require Scc2 to capture sister DNAs during S phase.

The Cohesin Ring Uses Its Hinge to Organize DNA Using Non-topological as well as Topological Mechanisms.

As predicted by the notion that sister chromatid cohesion is mediated by entrapment of sister DNAs inside cohesin rings, there is perfect correlation between co-entrapment of circular minichromosomes and sister chromatid cohesion. In most cells where cohesin loads without conferring cohesion, it does so by entrapment of individual DNAs. However, cohesin with a hinge domain whose positively charged lumen is neutralized loads and moves along chromatin despite failing to entrap DNAs. Thus, cohesin engages chromatin in non-topological, as well as topological, manners. Since hinge mutations, but not Smc-kleisin fusions, abolish entrapment, DNAs may enter cohesin rings through hinge opening. Mutation of three highly conserved lysine residues inside the Smc1 moiety of Smc1/3 hinges abolishes all loading without affecting cohesin's recruitment to CEN loading sites or its ability to hydrolyze ATP. We suggest that loading and translocation are mediated by conformational changes in cohesin's hinge driven by cycles of ATP hydrolysis.

Statistical inference of protein structural alignments using information and compression.

Motivation: Structural molecular biology depends crucially on computational techniques that compare protein three-dimensional structures and generate structural alignments (the assignment of one-to-one correspondences between subsets of amino acids based on atomic coordinates). Despite its importance, the structural alignment problem has not been formulated, much less solved, in a consistent and reliable way. To overcome these difficulties, we present here a statistical framework for the precise inference of structural alignments, built on the Bayesian and information-theoretic principle of Minimum Message Length (MML). The quality of any alignment is measured by its explanatory power-the amount of lossless compression achieved to explain the protein coordinates using that alignment. Results: We have implemented this approach in MMLigner , the first program able to infer statistically significant structural alignments. We also demonstrate the reliability of MMLigner 's alignment results when compared with the state of the art. Importantly, MMLigner can also discover different structural alignments of comparable quality, a challenging problem for oligomers and protein complexes. Availability and Implementation: Source code, binaries and an interactive web version are available at http://lcb.infotech.monash.edu.au/mmligner . Contact: arun.konagurthu@monash.edu. Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

On sufficient statistics of least-squares superposition of vector sets.

The problem of superposition of two corresponding vector sets by minimizing their sum-of-squares error under orthogonal transformation is a fundamental task in many areas of science, notably structural molecular biology. This problem can be solved exactly using an algorithm whose time complexity grows linearly with the number of correspondences. This efficient solution has facilitated the widespread use of the superposition task, particularly in studies involving macromolecular structures. This article formally derives a set of sufficient statistics for the least-squares superposition problem. These statistics are additive. This permits a highly efficient (constant time) computation of superpositions (and sufficient statistics) of vector sets that are composed from its constituent vector sets under addition or deletion operation, where the sufficient statistics of the constituent sets are already known (that is, the constituent vector sets have been previously superposed). This results in a drastic improvement in the run time of the methods that commonly superpose vector sets under addition or deletion operations, where previously these operations were carried out ab initio (ignoring the sufficient statistics). We experimentally demonstrate the improvement our work offers in the context of protein structural alignment programs that assemble a reliable structural alignment from well-fitting (substructural) fragment pairs. A C++ library for this task is available online under an open-source license.

A new statistical framework to assess structural alignment quality using information compression.

MOTIVATION: Progress in protein biology depends on the reliability of results from a handful of computational techniques, structural alignments being one. Recent reviews have highlighted substantial inconsistencies and differences between alignment results generated by the ever-growing stock of structural alignment programs. The lack of consensus on how the quality of structural alignments must be assessed has been identified as the main cause for the observed differences. Current methods assess structural alignment quality by constructing a scoring function that attempts to balance conflicting criteria, mainly alignment coverage and fidelity of structures under superposition. This traditional approach to measuring alignment quality, the subject of considerable literature, has failed to solve the problem. Further development along the same lines is unlikely to rectify the current deficiencies in the field. RESULTS: This paper proposes a new statistical framework to assess structural alignment quality and significance based on lossless information compression. This is a radical departure from the traditional approach of formulating scoring functions. It links the structural alignment problem to the general class of statistical inductive inference problems, solved using the information-theoretic criterion of minimum message length. Based on this, we developed an efficient and reliable measure of structural alignment quality, I-value. The performance of I-value is demonstrated in comparison with a number of popular scoring functions, on a large collection of competing alignments. Our analysis shows that I-value provides a rigorous and reliable quantification of structural alignment quality, addressing a major gap in the field. AVAILABILITY: http://lcb.infotech.monash.edu.au/I-value. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Online supplementary data are available at http://lcb.infotech.monash.edu.au/I-value/suppl.html.

Super: a web server to rapidly screen superposable oligopeptide fragments from the protein data bank.

Searching for well-fitting 3D oligopeptide fragments within a large collection of protein structures is an important task central to many analyses involving protein structures. This article reports a new web server, Super, dedicated to the task of rapidly screening the protein data bank (PDB) to identify all fragments that superpose with a query under a prespecified threshold of root-mean-square deviation (RMSD). Super relies on efficiently computing a mathematical bound on the commonly used structural similarity measure, RMSD of superposition. This allows the server to filter out a large proportion of fragments that are unrelated to the query; >99% of the total number of fragments in some cases. For a typical query, Super scans the current PDB containing over 80,500 structures (with ∼40 million potential oligopeptide fragments to match) in under a minute. Super web server is freely accessible from: http://lcb.infotech.monash.edu.au/super.

Note: A helical velocity selector for continuous molecular beams.

We report on a modern realization of the classic helical velocity selector for gas phase particle beams. The device operates stably under high vacuum conditions at rotational frequencies limited only by commercial dc motor capabilities. Tuning the rotational frequency allows selective scanning over a broad velocity band. The width of the selected velocity distributions at full-width-half-maximum is as narrow as a few percent of the selected mean velocity and independent of the rotational speed of the selector. The selector generates low vibrational noise amplitudes comparable to mechanically damped state-of-the-art turbo-molecular pumps and is therefore compatible with vibration sensitive experiments like molecule interferometry.

Sweet changes: glucose homeostasis can be altered by manipulating genes controlling hepatic glucose metabolism.

The liver is responsible for glucose synthesis in the fasting state, and glucose uptake, storage, and utilization in the fed state. A phenotypic switch, normally initiated by insulin or glucagon, controls the transition between the two states, which includes transcriptional alterations that regulate metabolic enzyme abundance for multiple metabolic pathways in a coordinated manner. A network of transcription factors, coactivators, and corepressors direct these changes, thus acting as transcriptional sensors of the nutritional status of an organism. The inability of the hepatocyte to undergo this metabolic reprogramming is characteristic of diabetes mellitus. Modulations that control the amount of individual metabolic enzymes or transcription factors can initiate the fasting-to-fed transition of the hepatocyte in an insulin-independent manner. Alternatively, overexpression of key regulators of metabolism can lock hepatocytes in the fasted state. These manipulations alter hepatic glucose flux, leading to either amelioration or induction of diabetes mellitus. These maneuvers reveal the complexity of the coordinated mechanisms used by the liver to alter its phenotype and provide evidence for the control strength of metabolic signaling.

Design and synthesis of novel CCR3 antagonists.

As part of our investigation into the development of potent CCR3 antagonists, a series of piperidine analogues was designed and prepared. Exploration of the piperidine core examined both the basicity and the location of a nitrogen, as well as conformational variants. The bicyclo-piperidine 24c was found to be the most potent inhibitor of CCR3 with an IC(50) of 0.0082 microM in the binding assay and 0.0024 microM in the chemotaxis assay.

c-Myc is required for the glucose-mediated induction of metabolic enzyme genes.

Glucose exerts powerful effects on hepatocyte gene transcription by mechanisms that are incompletely understood. c-Myc regulates hepatic glucose metabolism by increasing glycolytic enzyme gene transcription while concomitantly decreasing gluconeogenic and ketogenic enzyme gene expression. However, the molecular mechanisms by which c-Myc exerts these effects is not known. In this study, the glucose-mediated induction of L-type pyruvate kinase and glucose-6-phosphatase mRNA levels was diminished by maneuvers involving recombinant adenoviral vectors that interfere with (i) c-Myc protein levels by antisense expression or (ii) c-Myc function through a dominant-negative Max protein. These results were obtained using both HL1C rat hepatoma cells and primary rat hepatocytes. Furthermore, a decrease in c-Myc abundance reduced glucose production in HL1C cells, presumably by decreasing glucose-6-phosphatase activity. The repression of hormone-activated phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene transcription by glucose was not affected by a reduction in c-Myc levels. The basal mRNA levels for L-pyruvate kinase and glucose-6-phosphatase were not altered to any significant degree by adenoviral treatment. Furthermore, adenoviral overexpression of the c-Myc protein induced glucose-6-phosphatase mRNA in the absence of glucose stimulation. We conclude that multiple mechanisms exist to communicate the glucose-derived signal and that c-Myc has a key role in the hepatic glucose signaling pathway.