In this issue of Molecular Metabolism, Allison and her colleagues break new ground in our understanding of CNS leptin physiology [1]. By applying the sophisticated Translating Ribosome Affinity Purification (TRAP) technique in combination with RNA sequencing (TRAP-seq), they succeed in identifying novel markers for hypothalamic and brainstem subpopulations of leptin receptor (LepRb)-positive ne...

Studies were conducted in large arenas and simulated kitchens to compare the effectiveness of eight traps (seven sticky traps and one jar trap) and Þve attractants formonitoringGerman cockroaches (Blattella germanica L.). The evaluated traps were Trapper (type 9110Ð1), Catchmaster 150, 1001, and 2881, Victor-M330, Victor-M327, Glue board in D-Sect station, and a baby food jar trap. In choice te...

In optical trapping systems the trap stiffness, or spring constant, deteriorates dramatically with trap depth due to optical aberrations and system misalignment. This can severely hamper studies that employ optical tweezers to make accurate quantitative measurements. Here, a deformable membrane mirror is used, in conjunction with a random search algorithm, to correct for these aberrations by op...

Host-seeking female tabanid flies, that need mammalian blood for the development of their eggs, can be captured by the classic canopy trap with an elevated shiny black sphere as a luring visual target. The design of more efficient tabanid traps is important for stock-breeders to control tabanids, since these blood-sucking insects can cause severe problems for livestock, especially for horse- an...

PURPOSE Angiogenesis inhibitors have shown clinical benefit in patients with advanced renal cell cancer, but further therapeutic improvement is needed. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) Trap is a newly developed VEGF-blocking agent with stronger affinity and broader activity than the anti-VEGF antibody bevacizumab. In this study, we tested the activity of VEGF Trap in an orthotopic muri...

We demonstrate optical manipulation with an optical beam generated by a fractral zone plate (FZP). The experimental results show that the FZP beam can simultaneously trap multiple particles positioned in different focal planes of the FZP beam, owing to the multiple foci and self-reconstruction property of the FZP beam. The FZP beam can also be used to construct three-dimensional optical tweezer...

Whether in art or for QR codes, images have proven to be both powerful and efficient carriers of information. Spatial light modulators allow an unprecedented level of control over the generation of optical fields by using digital holograms. There is no unique way of obtaining a desired light pattern however, leaving many competing methods for hologram generation. In this paper, we test six holo...

Modes of light that contain topological defects such as screw dislocations can be focused into optical traps with interesting and useful properties. The way in which the intensity distribution within helical modes of light varies with topological charge is discussed, and new scaling predictions for their radial profiles that are consistent with experimental observations are introduced.

To identify the optimum conditions for the optical trapping of a droplet under microgravity, we theoretically analyzed the efficiency of trapping with counter laser beams. We found that the distance between the two foci is an important parameter for obtaining stable trapping conditions. We also performed an optical trapping experiment with counter laser beams under microgravity. The experimenta...

We study the rotational dynamics of solid chiral and birefringent microparticles induced by elliptically polarized laser light in optical tweezers. We find that both reflection of left circularly polarized light and residual linear retardance affect the particle dynamics. The degree of ellipticity of laser light needed to induce rotations is found. The experimental results are compared with ana...