Text in Bold indicates user action.
Text in Italics indicates XID/MUPCES menu items.
 

• STARTING XID/MUPCES
• IDENTIFYING A CELL USING ATTRIBUTES OF YOUR CHOICE
• USING THE "YES," "NO," "OR" COMMANDS
• IDENTIFYING A CELL BY ASKING FOR SUGGESTIONS (ANALYSIS)
• SHOW DATA DISTRIBUTION
• SHOW MARKS
• LIST ITEMS AND VIEW REFERENCES
• VIEW ITEM DATA
• SHOW UNUSUAL FEATURES
• ELIMINATING ITEMS OF YOUR CHOICE
• MENU HELP
• ITEM HELP
• PROGRAM HELP
• INVISIBLE MENUS/ATTRIBUTES
• NOTES
• EXITING THE PROGRAM
• TIPS ON MAXIMIZING SUCCESS WITH THE MUPCES

NO INSTALLATION IS NECESSARY FOR THE MUPCES.

IF YOU ARE USING THE MUPCES DIRECTLY FROM THE CD:
 

•     Click on XIDW/XIDW.EXE on the CD to start the program.

IF YOU ARE USING A SONY 505 LAPTOP ON WHICH THE MUDES HAS BEEN INSTALLED:
 

•     Double click the MUPCES shortcut icon.
•     A new screen appears. Click the "open folder" icon near the upper left comer.
•     Place the highlight bar on Plant Cell Types database  (PCELL.xid), if it is not already there.
•     Click OK. The cover screen for the XID Plant Cell Types now appears.
•     Click OK.

    The current screen shows the main menu headings available under Database for Plant Cell Type.   In this exercise you will identify an Apical Meristem Cell by saying that it has one nucleus, inconspicuous vacuoles, uniformly thin cell walls, and is isodiametric in transverse section. These choices could be entered in any order. Note the line on the bottom margin of the box shows that there are currently 19 cell types remaining in the database.  The highlight bar is on Cytoplasmic Features.
 

•     Double click the highlight bar.
•     Double click One Nucleus. Note that the number of items remaining is now 12.
•     Double click Inconspicous Vacuoles.  Note that the number of items remaining is now 3.
•     Click Close to return to the Plant Cell Types menu.
•     The next character which you will use is uniformly thin cell walls, which is not found under Cytoplasmic Features.
•     Double click Cell Wall Features.
•     Double click Cell Wall Thickness.
•     Double click Uniformly Thin.  Note that the number of items remaining is now 2.
•     Click Close to return to the Cell Wall Features menu.
•     Click Close to return to the Plant Cell Types menu.
•     Double Click Cell Geometry.
•     Double Click Cell Shape in Transverse Section.
•     Double Click Isodiametric.  A message appears telling you that the item is identified as an Apical Meristem Cell.  Click OK.
•     Click Item List.  A items remaining list appears in which Apical Meristem Cell is the only remaining item.
•     Click Item Help. An image appears displaying a examples of apical meristem cells.
•     Click Close to close the Item Help screen.
•     Click Close to close the Remaining Item List.
•     Click Reset XID. Note that the number of items remaining returns to 19 and all of the menu options under  Cell Shape in Transverse View reappear.
•     Click Close (or press Escape) to return to the main menu.

    YES:

•     Double click Cytoplasmic Features.
•     Double click One Nucleus.  A YES mark now appears to the left of One Nucleus, and the number of items remaining is 12. You have said the number of nuclei in your plant cell IS one.
•     Click Delete Mark to remove the mark. Note that the number of species returns to 19.
•     Marking more than one attribute in a menu with a Yes mark causes the attributes to be combined as "AND." For example: Double click One Nucleus. Note that the number of species remaining is 19.  Double click Inconspicuous Vacuoles. The number of items remaining is now 3. You have said that your cell has BOTH a single nucleus AND inconspicuous vacuoles.
•     Click Clear menu (or Reset XID) to clear both marks you have made.

•     Click No Cytoplasm.
•     Click Mark No. A NO mark now appears to the left of No Cytoplasm, and the number of items remaining is 15. You have said that the No Cytoplasm feature IS NOT present in your cell, that is, your cell has cytoplasm.
•     Click Delete Mark to remove the mark. Note that the number of items returns to 19. NO marks eliminate only those items that are marked exclusively for that character.

•     Click Calcium Carbonate Crystals, Click Mark Or. An OR mark now appears to the left of Calcium Carbonate Crystals, and the number of items remaining has disappeared and will not return until you complete the operation.
•     Click Protein Crystals or Aggregations. Click MarkOr.
•     Click Quit OR Marking. The number of items remaining is now 2. You have said that you are unsure of the structures in the cytoplasm of your cell, but that they are either calcium carbonate OR protein crystals.
•     Use the OR technique any time you are unsure of the exact answer. This is very helpful for features that are difficult to identify definitively without extensive analyses.
•     Click Clear menu to clear all the marks you have made in the Cytoplasmic Features menu. Note the number of species remaining returns to 19.

    In this exercise you will use the Analysis function to aid in identifying an Apical Meristem Cell.
 

•     Click Analysis. A screen entitled Attribute Menu Analysis appears. This is a list of suggestions for attributes which will be useful in identifying your plant cell.  These attributes are listed in descending order for maximum convergence on identification of the unknown.  What this means is if you can use the first attribute, this has the highest probability of descriminating remaining items from one another.  Note, however, you can use these attributes in any order that is convenient for you.
•     Double click Cell Wall Thickness.
•     Double click Uniformly Thin. Note that the number of items remaining is now 9.
•     Click Analysis.
•     Double click Cytoplasmic Features.
•     Double click One Nucleus. The number of items remaining is now 7.
•     Click Analysis.
•     Double click Cell Shape in Radial Longitudinal Section.
•     Double click Isodiametric The number of items remaining is now 4.
•     Click Analysis.
•     Double click Parademal Section of Surface View.
•     Double click Isodiametric  The number of items remaining is now 3.
•     Click Analysis
•     Double click Cell Wall Histology
•     Click Lignin present and Mark No.  The number of items remaining is now 2.
•     Click Suberin or Cutin present and Mark No.  The number of items remaining is now 2.
•     Click Wax Present and Mark No.  A message appears: Item Identified and provides you with the name of the plant cell identified (Apical Meristem Cell).
•     Click OK to clear the Item Identified message.
•     Click Reset XID to delete all marks you have made on the menus. Notice that the total number of  species remaining now returns to 19.
•     Click Close twice to return to the Plant Cell Types main menu.

    Marking attributes of your choice with YES, OR, NO can be combined in any sequence with asking the program for suggestions (Analysis).

Return to Table of Contents

Examining the distribution of attributes among items within the database can sometimes be helpful in selecting attributes useful for rapid identification.  Attributes that are shared by many items are less useful for identification than attributes that are unique or shared by only a few items.
 

•     Double click Cell Geometry.
•     Double click Maceration or Three Dimensional Cell Shape. The number of items remaining is 9.
•     Click Distribution. The number of items in the database with each of the attributes is shown on the left. This screen tells you that for this database Elongated Polygon and Isodiametric Polygon are common cell shapes, but Puzzle-shaped and Kidney or Bone Shaped are rare cell shapes. Although it is possible to  highlight the attributes, this is a "read only" screen and they can not be selected.
•     Click Close to clear the data distribution screen.
•     Double Click Puzzle-shaped.  Note how rapidly some cell types, in this case, Epidermal Cells, can be identified by their unique characteristics.  Using Attribute Distribution to gain insight into what attributes might be useful in this regard.
•     Click OK to clear the Species Identified message.
•     Click Clear Menu to remove the marks,
•     Click Close twice to return to the Plant Cell Type main menu.

•     Double click Cytoplasmic Features.
•     Double click One Nucleus.
•     Double Click Inconspicuous Vacuoles (3 items remain).
•     Click Close to return to the Plant Cell Type main menu.
•     Double click Cell Wall Features.
•     Double click Cell Wall Thickness.
•     Double click Uniformly Thin. (2 items remain)
•     Click Item List to list the remaining cell types.
•     Click View Marks. At the top of the screen it shows you what you have done, i.e., YES for One Nucleus,  Inconspicuous Vacuoles, and  Uniformly Thin Cell Walls . At the bottom is a list of all attributes common to the two remaining  cell types. You can page down or scroll down through this list.  These common attributes of course have no power of discrimination among these items since all items have them.
•     Click Close four times to return to the Database for XID Tutorial main menu.
•     Click Reset XID to clear all the marks you have made.  You can selectively alter marks by entering the appropriate attribute menu and making changes.

•     Click Item List to list the species in the database. Apical Meristem Cell is highlighted.
•     Click References. A screen titled References for Apical Meristem Cells appears. This screen shows where you can look up the cell type in four commonly used books. This list can contain as many references as the author wishes to provide.
•     Click Close to return to the Item  List.
•     Click Close to return to the Plant Cell Type main menu.

•     Click Item List while in any menu to bring up the list of items remaining.
•     Pressing Enter or clicking View Data while any item is highlighted will allow you to view  all of the data for that item. You can page or scroll through the data. View the data for any species.
•     Click Close (or the X button) to return to the items list.

•     Click Laticifers.
•     Click Unusual Attributes.  A screen titled Distinctive Attributes of Laticifers appears.    The number of items with each attribute is listed on the left hand side of the screen in  order of increasing frequency. Therefore, Laticifers are the only cells with Multiple Nuclei and Latex. This screen should be thought of as containing features the item MAY have. These features are not necessarily mandatory. For example, a plant cell may a single nucleus and still be a laticifer.  If your specimen had multiple nuclei, however, this screen would have provided a good clue.
•     Click Close to return to the Item List.
•     Click Close again to return to the Plant Cell Type main menu.

Assume you know the plant cell you are trying to identify IS NOT an Apical Meristem Cell.

•     Double click Plant Cell Typee.
•     Double click Cytoplasmic Features.
•     Double click One Nucleus (12 items remain).
•     Double click Inconspicuous Vacuoles (3 items remain).
•     Click Item List to list the remaining cells.
•     Click Eliminate while Apical Meristem Cell is highlighted. This leaves a NO mark to the left of Apical Meristem Cell. Eliminating items in this manner is very helpful because now when you click Analysis, the suggestions provided will be completely different than they would have been to distinguish between all three items since the program now tells you how to distinguish  between only the remaining two items in the database.
•     Click Close three times to return to the Plant Cell Type main menu.
•     Click Reset XID to clear a marks.

•     Double click Cell Wall Features.
•     Double click Cell Wall Histology.
•     Click Suberin or Cutin Present.
•     Click Selection Help. The help text box appears with a description of how to test for suberin and cutin with Sudan IV. At the bottom of the screen you will see several examples of what the positive test may look like. If the entire screen is not visible you may use the scroll bar or maximize button.
•     Click Close to clear the Suberin or Cutin Present help screen.
•     Click Close. The highlight bar is now on the parent menu Cell Wall Histology.
•     Click Selection Help. The Cell Wall Histology help screen appears with helpful hits on how to approach assessing the cell wall histology attributes.
•     Click Close to clear the Cell Wall Histology help screen.
•     Click Close. The highlight bar is now on the parent menu Cell Wall Features.
•     Click Selection Help. The help screen provides useful information on what type of microscopy might be usefull in assessing cell wall features.
•     Click Close to return to the Plant Cell Types main menu.

    If no help exists for any given menu or attribute, the help is automatically given for the next higher  menu level.

Return to Table of Contents

•     Click Item List. If images have been entered into the program, any item can be highlighted and then the Species Help button clicked to display the image of that item.  The item list is always alphabetical. You can reach any item on the list by using the scroll bar or by typing its name, i.e. typing  s moves the highlight bar to the first item beginning with s, if you then type i the highlight bar moves to the first item beginning with si.
•     Move the highlight bar to Guard Cells.
•     Click Item  Help.
•     The item image and help text box for Guard Cells appears. You can view the entire image by using the scroll bar on the large box or in less detail by clicking the Zoom button.
•     Click Close  (or X) to return to the Item List.
•     Click View Data with Guard Cells highlighted.  An Item Data Screen appears which gives a complete list of all the attributes encoded for Guard Cells in the data base.  This can be useful for double checking your identification or for reviewing attributes of selected cell types.  Keep in mind that not all the listed attributes will necessarily be present in your sample.
•     Click Close to return to the Plant Cell Types main menu.

    No matter where you are in the program, clicking Help provides you with detailed, context specific help that explains how to use the screen you were on when you clicked Help.

•     You are now in the main menu of submenus. ClickHelp. The Using a Menu of Submenus help screen appears.
•     Click the X (close) button to close the Help screen.
•     Click Analysis. Click Help. The Attribute Menu Analysis help screen appears.
•     Click the X (close) button twice to return to the Database for XID Tutorial main menu.

Return to Table of Contents

    As menus and attributes become non-applicable to the identification process, they also become "invisible" preventing the user from selecting impossible choices and greatly reducing the complexity of the menu structure.

•     For example, in the Plant Cell Type main menu, double click Cytoplasmic Features.
•     Double click No Cytoplasm.  Notice that the items remaining was reduced from 19 to 5 and there are now only three menu items left to select from in the Cytoplasmic Features menu.  The other menu items are no longer relevant to the remaining 5 cell types and have become invisible.
•     Click Close to return to the Plant Cell Type main menu.

     If you are sure your specimen has an attribute that is not in a menu (but the menu appears, with other attributes), your species might not be in the database, the author may have chosen not to include that attribute, or you may have made an incorrect mark elsewhere, causing the attribute  you seek to become invisible. For example, if you determine your specimen has cellulose in its cell walls but the only choices in the Cell Wall Histology menu are Lignin Present, Suberin or Cutin Present, Wax Present, and Callose Present, you can click Distribution to see if the author included cellulose as a cell wall histological attribute and to see if it has disappeared. If it is shown, you should go to the Item List and click View Marks to display a summary of the marks you have made. If  there is a mark that is somewhat in doubt, go to it in the menu system and delete it (by highlighting the marked attribute and clicking the Delete button. This usually increases the number of items remaining and can allow you to get back on the right track if you have made a mistake.

Return to Table of Contents

•     Click Close (or press Escape) until the XID Identification System screen appears blank.
•     Click the X (close) button in the upper right hand corner.

There are many ways to successfully identify plant cells, the following appears to be a common strategy adopted by many students with good results:
 

• Prepare you sections and/or macerations in advance, so you can concentrate on observing cell features and interacting with the MUPCES.
• Plan your histological staining work in advance, so the material is ready for observation when you need it.
• Closely examine the unknown cell  in its entirety, to form a good three dimensional image of what it looks like.
• Note any unusual features that are present.  Enter these first to reduce the database size and menu structure.
• Enter attributes that you are absolutely sure are present in your specimen.
• Utilize the Analysis feature to help you decide what features to look for next.  After each attribute entry, rerun the Analysis feature.