Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

We describe a minimally-invasive and painless method to measure canine hindlimb muscle strength and muscle response to repeated eccentric contractions.

We describe the use of a stopped-flow instrument to investigate both the reductive and oxidative half-reactions of Aspergillus fumigatus siderophore A (SidA), a flavin-dependent monooxygenase. We then show the spectra corresponding to the species in the reaction of SidA and we calculate the rate constants for their formation.

The host immune response to pathogen infection is a tightly regulated process. Utilizing a lipopolysaccharide lung exposure model in mice, it is possible to conduct high resolution evaluations of the complex mechanisms associated with disease pathogenesis.

The analysis of skeletal muscle tissues to determine structural, functional, and biochemical properties is greatly facilitated by appropriate preparation. This protocol describes appropriate methods to prepare skeletal muscle tissue for a broad range of phenotyping studies.

Bacterial mechanosensitive channels can be used as mechanoelectrical transducers in biomolecular devices. Droplet interface bilayers (DIBs), cell-inspired building blocks to such devices, represent new platforms to incorporate and stimulate mechanosensitive channels. Here, we demonstrate a new micropipette-based method of forming DIBs, allowing the study of mechanosensitive channels under mechanical stimulation.

Here, a protocol to harvest, maintain, and treat mouse small intestinal organoids with pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and Listeria monocytogenes is described, as well as emphasis on gene expression and proper normalization techniques for protein.

We report a protocol using fluorescence-activated cell sorting to isolate plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) with high purity from the bone marrow of lupus-prone mice for functional studies of pDC.

Traditional thermogradient tables create a range of temperatures across the surface. Welding gussets perpendicular to the surface of a thermogradient table will control temperature in depth increasing possible research applications.

This paper presents a series of protocols for developing engineered cells and functionalized surfaces that enable synthetically engineered E. coli to control and manipulate programmable material surfaces.

A protocol for the controlled photoredox ring-opening polymerization of O-carboxyanhydrides mediated by Ni/Zn complexes is presented.

The protocol described herein is a method for measuring endoreduplication within tubers of potato (Solanum tuberosum). It includes plasmolysis and protoplast extraction steps to decrease the noise and debris in downstream flow cytometric analysis.

Here we present a protocol to construct a pressure-controlled syringe pump to be used in microfluidic applications. This syringe pump is made from an additively manufactured body, off-the-shelf hardware, and open-source electronics. The resulting system is low-cost, straightforward to build, and delivers well-regulated fluid flow to enable rapid microfluidic research.

The main goal of this work is to elucidate the role of capping agents in regulating the size of palladium nanoparticles by combining in situ small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) and ligand-based kinetic modeling.

Here, we present a protocol to measure the tribocorrosion rate and wear-corrosion synergy of thin film and bulk Al alloys in simulated sea water at room temperature.

This protocol describes a new behavioral test—the human approach test in the pigs' home pen—to detect functional deficits in laboratory pigs after subconcussive traumatic brain injury.

Soft, low-power, biomolecular memristors leverage similar composition, structure, and switching mechanisms of bio-synapses. Presented here is a protocol to assemble and characterize biomolecular memristors obtained from insulating lipid bilayers formed between water droplets in oil. The incorporation of voltage-activated alamethicin peptides results in memristive ionic conductance across the membrane.

This protocol is designed to efficiently quantify ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) activity in different cellular compartments of the rodent brain. Users are able to examine UPS functioning in nuclear, cytoplasmic and synaptic fractions in the same animal, reducing the amount of time and number of animals needed to perform these complex analyses.

Minimal erythema dose (MED) testing is used to establish dosage schedules for ultraviolet radiation phototherapy. It can assess individual variation in inflammatory response but lacks methodology for achieving reproducible results. Here, we present a precision implementation of MED and demonstrate its ability to capture individual variation in inflammatory response.

Here, we present a protocol to increase the surgical field of view and reduce the difficulty of total transperitoneal laparoscopic nephroureterectomy surgery by precutting the umbilical ligament before treating the terminal ureter.

The protocol described in this manuscript explains the steps for the fabrication of a soluble extracellular matrix (ECM) from the human pancreas. The solubilized ECM powder obtained through this protocol may be used for the recapitulation of pancreatic islets’ microenvironment in vitro and, potentially, in vivo settings.

We describe a more consistent and expeditious method to quantify lung metastasis in the 4T1 breast cancer model by using Fiji-ImageJ.

The present article details a step-by-step protocol for successful and low noise electroantennograms in several genera of mosquitoes, including both females and males.

This protocol presents rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) assay within 2.5 h by single-cell-stimulated Raman scattering imaging of D₂O metabolism. This method applies to bacteria in the urine or whole blood environment, which is transformative for rapid single-cell phenotypic AST in the clinic.

The present protocol describes a method to track lupus progression in mice. Two additional procedures are presented to characterize lupus nephritis based on cell infiltration and protein deposition in the kidneys.

This protocol provides a simple, cost-effective DNA isolation method for the analysis of murine gut microbiota alterations during the development of autoimmune disease.

TrackMate Analysis of Calcium Imaging (TACI) is an open-source ImageJ plugin for 3D calcium imaging analysis that examines motion on the z-axis and identifies the maximum value of each z-stack to represent a cell's intensity at the corresponding time point. It can separate neurons overlapping in the lateral (x/y) direction but on different z-planes.