JoVE Monthly Highlights: November 2017

Protocol

Preparation of Keratin Hydrolysate from Chicken Feathers and Its Application in Cosmetics

Pavel Mokrejš¹, Matouš Huťťa¹, Jana Pavlačková², Pavlína Egner²

¹Department of Polymer Engineering, Faculty of Technology, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, ²Department of Fat, Tenside and Cosmetics Technology, Faculty of Technology, Tomas Bata University in Zlín

The goal of the protocol is to prepare keratin hydrolysate from chicken feathers by alkaline-enzymatic hydrolysis and to test whether adding keratin hydrolysate into a cosmetics ointment base improves skin barrier function (heightening hydration and diminishing transepidermal water loss). Tests are conducted on men and woman volunteers.

Luciferase Complementation Imaging Assay in Nicotiana benthamiana Leaves for Transiently Determining Protein-protein Interaction Dynamics

Kaiwen Sun*, Yuyu Zheng*, Ziqiang Zhu

Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Normal University

This manuscript describes an easy and rapid experimental procedure for determining protein-protein interactions based on the measurement of luciferase activity.

Wind Tunnel Experiments to Study Chaparral Crown Fires

Jeanette Cobian-Iñiguez¹, AmirHessam Aminfar¹, Joey Chong², Gloria Burke², Albertina Zuniga¹, David R. Weise², Marko Princevac¹

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, ²Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service

This protocol describes wind tunnel experiments designed to study the transition of a fire from the ground to the canopy of chaparral shrubs.

Methodology for Developing Life Tables for Sessile Insects in the Field Using the Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, in Cotton As a Model System

Steven E. Naranjo¹, Peter C. Ellsworth²

¹USDA-ARS, Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, ²Department of Entomology, Maricopa Agricultural Center, University of Arizona

Life tables allow quantification of the sources and rates of mortality in insect populations and contribute to understanding, predicting and manipulating population dynamics in agroecosystems. Methods for conducting and analyzing cohort-based life tables in the field for an insect with sessile immature life stages are presented.