Establishing a Field-Effect Transistor Sensor for the Detection of Mutations in the Tumour Protein 53 Gene (TP53)-An Electrochemical Optimisation Approach.

We present a low-cost, sensitive and specific DNA field-effect transistor sensor for the rapid detection of a common mutation to the tumour protein 53 gene (TP53). The sensor consists of a commercially available, low-cost, field-effect transistor attached in series to a gold electrode sensing pad for DNA hybridisation. The sensor has been predominantly optimised electrochemically, particularly with respect to open-circuit potentiometry as a route towards understanding potential (voltage) changes upon DNA hybridisation using a transistor.

Preemptive analgesia for postoperative pain relief in thoracolumbosacral spine operations: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial.

OBJECTIVEPreemptive administration of analgesic medication is more effective than medication given after the onset of the painful stimulus. The efficacy of preoperative or preemptive pain relief after thoracolumbosacral spine surgery has not been well studied. The present study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial of preemptive analgesia with a single-shot epidural injection in adult patients undergoing spine surgery.

Integrated development of an effective bioprocess for extracellular production of penicillin G acylase in Escherichia coli and its subsequent one-step purification.

An integrated bioprocess for effective production and purification of penicillin G acylase (PAC) was developed. PAC was overexpressed in a genetically engineered Escherichia coli strain, secreted into the cultivation medium, harvested, and purified in a single step by anion-exchange chromatography. The cultivation medium developed in this study had a sufficiently low conductivity to allow direct application of the extracellular fraction to the anion-exchange chromatography column while providing all of the required nutrients for sustaining cell growth and PAC overexpression.

Simultaneous clarification of Escherichia coli culture and purification of extracellularly produced penicillin G acylase using tangential flow filtration and anion-exchange membrane chromatography (TFF-AEMC).

Downstream purification often represents the most cost-intensive step in the manufacturing of recombinant proteins since conventional purification processes are lengthy, technically complicated, and time-consuming. To address this issue, herein we demonstrated the simultaneous clarification and purification of the extracellularly produced recombinant protein by Escherichia coli using an integrated system of tangential flow filtration and anion exchange membrane chromatography (TFF-AEMC). After cultivation in a bench-top bioreactor with 1L working volume using the developed host/vector system for high-level expression and effective secretion of recombinant penicillin G acylase (PAC), the whole culture broth was applied directly to the established system.

Potential application of hydrogel-based strong anion-exchange membrane for plasmid DNA purification.

The potential application of a hydrogel-based strong anion-exchange (Q) membrane to purify plasmid DNAs was evaluated. The maximum binding capacity of plasmid DNA was estimated to be 12.4 mg/ml of membrane volume with a plasmid recovery yield of ∼90%.

Neutrophil activation by fMLP regulates FOXO (forkhead) transcription factors by multiple pathways, one of which includes the binding of FOXO to the survival factor Mcl-1.

Activation signals from bacterial stimuli set into motion a series of events that alter the abbreviated lifespan of neutrophils. These studies show that the bacterial chemoattractant, formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP), promotes the phosphorylation/inactivation of the FOXO subfamily of forkhead transcription factors (FKHR, FKHR-L1, and AFX) through the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase/Akt (protein kinase B) and the RAS mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Furthermore, fMLP stimulation causes the inducible expression of the prosurvival Bcl-2 family member Mcl-1, which then binds to a complex containing FKHR.