Updates

2012-12-21

Very minor update, although time permitting, I'm gearing up for a more significant update.

  1. The conversion tool has been slightly updated. I wrote a few additional macros and tied them to buttons. Now, each individual field can be cleared in addition to the entire set of inputs. I doubt the macros/buttons will work on non-Windows platforms, but the core functionality (pull-downs and the back-end calculations) will, just like the previous version. The new version also comes pre-populated with working examples.
2012-05-28

Moderate update to reflect recent and older publications, some load time optimization, and frame size tweaks.

  1. Major changes to Publications page. Two recent publications that rely heavily on the isolation protocol and various other methods are now listed, along with some older relevant publications. Links are provided for the full text and the PubMed abstract.
  2. Added RIS citations (for EndNote and Reference Manager) to Publications page to make citations easier.
  3. Tweaked coding for Images and Videos page to fix issue where zooming in and out would cause frames to change in size and shift out of alignment in certain browsers. This mainly applied to mobile browsers/lower resolution screens. With the exception of extraordinarily low resolutions, this should now be fixed.
  4. Optimized thumbnails on Videos page. For some reason, most browsers would download the higher-resolution source files rather than a smaller rendition. This has been fixed, and the page should now load considerably more rapidly and consume far less bandwidth.
2012-04-07

The first real update since the initial launch of the website, and long overdue.

  1. Addition of two new sections: Other Protocols and News and Updates.
  2. New layout of Videos and Images. Videos thumbnails are now shrunk and ordered in a grid, which should reduce bandwidth requirements and be more mobile-friendly. Images are also now in a grid array with more detailed captions.
  3. The entire hepatocyte isolation protocol can now be downloaded in PDF format from the Procedure page.
  4. A spreadsheet for hepatocyte media forumlations can now be downloaded from the Materials page.
  5. Minor update to FAQ-- addition of one extra item about phenotype degradation in culture.
  6. Minor update to About page, since I am no longer in graduate school.

Upcoming

Disclaimer: Due to other obligations, I cannot provide any definite time frame for any of the goals listed below. If these recent updates prove useful (based on historic traffic patterns), I may be more motivated to action. As always, please feel free to contact me via email if you have any specific requests, questions, or comments.

  1. Hosting for related content. I've seen some incredible time-lapse videos of primary hepatocytes developing in culture over the course of several days, and it's on my top 10 list of Coolest Things In Science, Ever.
  2. Individual, interactive HTML versions of my other protocols. There are some interesting methods I have come up with to present protocols in a more visual, workflow-oriented method that I'd like to pilot.
  3. Additional related protocols, including detailed methods for qRT-PCR from hepatocytes (24-well, no less), immunoblotting, and lipogenesis.
  4. Polished versions of the currently available protocols, properly typeset and in interactive PDF format, with accompanying validation data
  5. RSS? Not entirely sure how useful this would be. This, more than anything, will be dependent on traffic and user feedback.
  6. Tools. As mentioned, I have a host of spreadsheets that can rapidly expedite data processing. Unfortunately, they require some instruction for proper use. I may make some Captivate interactive tutorials to go along with the more useful (but complex) versions.
    A simple example can be found here (this always links to the latest version of the tool). Just a spreadsheet that does simple volume/mass/concentration conversions with considerable flexibility. It's buried here for now, until I have enough tools to justify a new tab.
  7. (Addressed with 5/28/2012 update) Updated Publications page. Yes, I have more publications than what is listed. Not nearly enough to be considered a hotshot, but I think this site makes up for that. I hope.

Not planned

  • Ads. Not now, and not ever.
  • Social networking. There's a place for it, just not here. I'm on LinkedIn/Facebook, but I assume that if you're in this field, you are intelligent enough to seach.