Efficiency of ultrafiltration/diafiltration in removing organic and elemental process equipment related leachables from biological therapeutics.

In the production of biological therapeutics such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), ultrafiltration and diafiltration (UF/DF) are widely regarded as effective downstream processing steps capable of removing process equipment related leachables (PERLs) introduced upstream of the UF/DF step. However, clearance data available in the literature are limited to species with low partition coefficients (log P) such as buffer ions, hydrophilic organic compounds, and some metal ions. Additional data for a wide range of PERLs including hydrophobic compounds and elemental impurities are needed to establish meaningful, comprehensive safety risk assessments.

The socially evaluated handgrip test: Introduction of a novel, time-efficient stress protocol.

Most widely-used stress-induction procedures (such as the TSST and the Cold Pressor Test) require considerable effort and overhead in terms of preparation, logistics, and staff recruitment. Moreover, while known to reliably induce HPA axis activation, especially when combined with social self-threat, most conventional laboratory stressors cannot be flexibly adapted to elicit either a mainly autonomic or an additional endocrine stress response. Being a promising alternative approach, a new version of the isometric handgrip test enriched by a social-evaluative component was evaluated in the present study.

RNAi-mediated endogene silencing in strawberry fruit: detection of primary and secondary siRNAs by deep sequencing.

RNA interference (RNAi) has been exploited as a reverse genetic tool for functional genomics in the nonmodel species strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) since 2006. Here, we analysed for the first time different but overlapping nucleotide sections (>200 nt) of two endogenous genes, FaCHS (chalcone synthase) and FaOMT (O-methyltransferase), as inducer sequences and a transitive vector system to compare their gene silencing efficiencies. In total, ten vectors were assembled each containing the nucleotide sequence of one fragment in sense and corresponding antisense orientation separated by an intron (inverted hairpin construct, ihp).

RNAi-induced silencing of gene expression in strawberry fruit (Fragaria x ananassa) by agroinfiltration: a rapid assay for gene function analysis.

Intron-containing constructs encoding self-complementary 'hairpin' RNA (ihpRNA) have the potential to efficiently silence genes in a range of plant species. In this study we demonstrate the silencing of a ripening-related chalcone synthase (CHS) gene in strawberry fruits (Fragaria x ananassa cv. Elsanta) by a construct (ihpRNA) containing the partial sense and corresponding antisense sequences of CHS separated by an intron obtained from a F.

Deletion analysis of the 5' untranslated region of the Rhizobium meliloti nodF gene.

Efficient establishment of the symbiosis between rhizobia and their host plants requires precise regulation of bacterial nod genes. The nod gene transcripts in Rhizobium meliloti have approximately 200 nucleotides of untranslated sequence 5' of the start codon (5' UTR). We measured the significance of this region by constructing fusions between deletion derivatives of nodF and the reporter beta-glucuronidase (GUS).

[Serum digitoxin levels in pacemaker patients].

In most cases pacemaker patients represent a diverse geriatric group in which ECG and clinical signs are of minor usefulness in diagnosing digitalis toxicity. We therefore determined serum glycoside concentrations in 200 consecutive patients attending our pacemaker clinic (with a mean maintenance dose of 0.093 mg digitoxin per day) and tried to correlate these to clinical, ECG and chemical findings.