The population-specific Thr44Met OCT3 coding variant affects metformin pharmacokinetics with subsequent effects on insulin sensitivity in C57Bl/6J mice.

Aims/hypothesis: Metformin is an important first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes and acts by increasing the body's ability to dispose of glucose. Metformin's efficacy can be affected by genetic variants in the transporters that regulate its uptake into cells. The SLC22A3 gene (also known as EMT; EMTH; OCT3) codes for organic cation transporter 3 (OCT3), which is a broad-specificity cation transporter that also transports metformin.

A Multivariate Statistical Approach to Wrinkling Detection in Composites.

Nondestructive inspection using ultrasound in materials such as carbon-fiber reinforced polymers (CFRPs) is challenging as the ultrasonic wave will scatter from each ply in the structure of the component. This may be improved using image processing algorithms such as the total focusing method (TFM); however, the high level of backscattering within the sample is very likely to obscure a signal arising from a flaw. Detection of wrinkling, or out-of-plane fiber waviness, is especially difficult to automate as no additional scattering is produced (as might be the case with delaminations).

Product Enhanced Reverse Transcriptase for assessing replication competent virus in vectors retroviral vectors pseudotyped with GALV and VSV-G envelopes.

We evaluated the use of the Product Enhanced Reverse Transcriptase (PERT) assay as a means of detecting virus in retroviral vectors products pseudotyped with Gibbon Ape Leukemia Virus (GALV) and Vesicular Stomatitis Virus G (VSVG) envelopes. PERT provides greater standardization than the S+/L- assay which has been used extensively in virus detection. A challenge is that PERT will also detect residual retroviral vectors as vector particles contain reverse transcriptase.

Stain-Free Approach to Determine and Monitor Cell Heath Using Supervised and Unsupervised Image-Based Deep Learning.

Cell-based medicinal products (CBMPs) are a growing class of therapeutics that promise new treatments for complex and rare diseases. Given the inherent complexity of the whole human cells comprising CBMPs, there is a need for robust and fast analytical methods for characterization, process monitoring, and quality control (QC) testing during their manufacture. Existing techniques to evaluate and monitor cell quality typically constitute labor-intensive, expensive, and highly specific staining assays.