Facilitated endospore detection for spp. through automated algorithm-based image processing.

spp. endospores are important dormant cell forms and are distributed widely in environmental samples. While these endospores can have important industrial value (e.

An Antibody-Aptamer-Hybrid Lateral Flow Assay for Detection of CXCL9 in Antibody-Mediated Rejection after Kidney Transplantation.

Chronic antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) is a key limiting factor for the clinical outcome of a kidney transplantation (Ktx), where early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention is needed. This study describes the identification of the biomarker CXC-motif chemokine ligand (CXCL) 9 as an indicator for AMR and presents a new aptamer-antibody-hybrid lateral flow assay (hybrid-LFA) for detection in urine. Biomarker evaluation included two independent cohorts of kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) from a protocol biopsy program and used subgroup comparisons according to BANFF-classifications.

A new lateral flow assay to detect sIL-2R during T-cell mediated rejection after kidney transplantation.

Kidney is the most frequently transplanted among all solid organs worldwide. Kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) undergo regular follow-up examinations for the early detection of acute rejections. The gold standard for proving a T-cell mediated rejection (TCMR) is a biopsy of the renal graft often occurring as indication biopsy, in parallel to an increased serum creatinine that may indicate deterioration of renal transplant function.

Implementing a digital infrastructure for the lab using a central laboratory server and the SiLA2 communication standard.

In this report, a fully integrated solution for laboratory digitization is presented. The approach presents a flexible and complete integration method for the digitally assisted workflow. The worker in the laboratory performs procedures in direct interaction with the digitized infrastructure that guides through the process and aids while performing tasks.

Bringing IoT to the Lab: SiLA2 and Open-Source-Powered Gateway Module for Integrating Legacy Devices into the Digital Laboratory.

In this article a gateway module to integrate legacy laboratory devices into the network of the digital laboratory in the 21st century is introduced. The device is based on ready to buy consumer hardware that is easy to get and inexpensive. Depending on the specific requirements of the desired application (bare embedded computer, RS232 serial port connector, IP65 certified casing and connectors) the needed investment ranges from about 95 € up to 200 €.

Lung Surfactant Accelerates Skin Wound Healing: A Translational Study with a Randomized Clinical Phase I Study.

Lung surfactants are used for reducing alveolar surface tension in preterm infants to ease breathing. Phospholipid films with surfactant proteins regulate the activity of alveolar macrophages and reduce inflammation. Aberrant skin wound healing is characterized by persistent inflammation.

A comparison of curated gene sets versus transcriptomics-derived gene signatures for detecting pathway activation in immune cells.

Background: Despite the significant contribution of transcriptomics to the fields of biological and biomedical research, interpreting long lists of significantly differentially expressed genes remains a challenging step in the analysis process. Gene set enrichment analysis is a standard approach for summarizing differentially expressed genes into pathways or other gene groupings. Here, we explore an alternative approach to utilizing gene sets from curated databases.

Introducing a Virtual Assistant to the Lab: A Voice User Interface for the Intuitive Control of Laboratory Instruments.

The introduction of smart virtual assistants (VAs) and corresponding smart devices brought a new degree of freedom to our everyday lives. Voice-controlled and Internet-connected devices allow intuitive device controlling and monitoring from all around the globe and define a new era of human-machine interaction. Although VAs are especially successful in home automation, they also show great potential as artificial intelligence-driven laboratory assistants.

A smart device application for the automated determination of colonies on agar plates.

The manual counting of colonies on agar plates to estimate the number of viable organisms (so-called colony-forming units-CFUs) in a defined sample is a commonly used method in microbiological laboratories. The automation of this arduous and time-consuming process through benchtop devices with integrated image processing capability addresses the need for faster and higher sample throughput and more accuracy. While benchtop colony counter solutions are often bulky and expensive, we investigated a cost-effective way to automate the colony counting process with smart devices using their inbuilt camera features and a server-based image processing algorithm.

Array Analysis Manager-An automated DNA microarray analysis tool simplifying microarray data filtering, bias recognition, normalization, and expression analysis.

Desoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) microarray experiments generate big datasets. To successfully harness the potential information within, multiple filtering, normalization, and analysis methods need to be applied. An in-depth knowledge of underlying physical, chemical, and statistical processes is crucial to the success of this analysis.

Optimization of Cyanine Dye Stability and Analysis of FRET Interaction on DNA Microarrays.

The application of DNA microarrays for high throughput analysis of genetic regulation is often limited by the fluorophores used as markers. The implementation of multi-scan techniques is limited by the fluorophores' susceptibility to photobleaching when exposed to the scanner laser light. This paper presents combined mechanical and chemical strategies which enhance the photostability of cyanine 3 and cyanine 5 as part of solid state DNA microarrays.

C3-induced release of neurotrophic factors from Schwann cells - potential mechanism behind its regeneration promoting activity.

Previous studies revealed a peripheral nerve regeneration (PNR)(1) promoting activity of Clostridium botulinum C3(2) exoenzyme or a 26(mer) C-terminal peptide fragment covering amino acids 156-181 (C3(156-181)),(3) when delivered as one-time injection at the lesion site. The current study was performed to 1) investigate if prolonged availability of C3 and C3(156-181) at the lesion site can further enhance PNR in vivo and to 2) elucidate effects of C3 and C3(156-181) on Schwann cells (SCs)(4)in vitro. For in vivo studies, 10 mm adult rat sciatic nerve gaps were reconstructed with the epineurial pouch technique or autologous nerve grafts.

The Impact of Photobleaching on Microarray Analysis.

DNA-Microarrays have become a potent technology for high-throughput analysis of genetic regulation. However, the wide dynamic range of signal intensities of fluorophore-based microarrays exceeds the dynamic range of a single array scan by far, thus limiting the key benefit of microarray technology: parallelization. The implementation of multi-scan techniques represents a promising approach to overcome these limitations.

Silver nanoparticle-doped zirconia capillaries for enhanced bacterial filtration.

Membrane clogging and biofilm formation are the most serious problems during water filtration. Silver nanoparticle (Agnano) coatings on filtration membranes can prevent bacterial adhesion and the initiation of biofilm formation. In this study, Agnano are immobilized via direct reduction on porous zirconia capillary membranes to generate a nanocomposite material combining the advantages of ceramics being chemically, thermally and mechanically stable with nanosilver, an efficient broadband bactericide for water decontamination.

Analysis of aging in lager brewing yeast during serial repitching.

Serial repitching of brewing yeast inoculates is an important economic factor in the brewing industry, as their propagation is time and resource intensive. Here, we investigated whether replicative aging and/or the population distribution status changed during serial repitching in three different breweries with the same brewing yeast strain but different abiotic backgrounds and repitching regimes with varying numbers of reuses. Next to bud scar numbers the DNA content of the Saccharomyces pastorianus HEBRU cells was analyzed.

Cell assessment by at-line microscopy.

This protocol regards a microscopic application and software for image-guided monitoring of mammalian cells which grow in suspension cultures. It has been developed in order to establish an automated microscopic application for in situ and at-line cell monitoring in bioreactors (Akin et al., Biosens Bioelectron 26:4532-4537, 2011; Babitzky et al.

Light intensity dependence of the kinetics of the photocatalytic oxidation of nitrogen(II) oxide at the surface of TiO2.

Air pollution by nitrogen oxides represents a serious environmental problem in urban areas where numerous sources of these pollutants are concentrated. One approach to reduce the concentration of these air pollutants is their light-induced oxidation in the presence of molecular oxygen and a photocatalytically active building material which uses titanium dioxide as the photocatalyst. Herein, results of an investigation concerning the influence of the photon flux and the pollutant concentration on the rate of the photocatalytic oxidation of nitrogen(ii) oxide in the presence of molecular oxygen and UV(A) irradiated titanium dioxide powder are presented.

In situ microscopy for in-line monitoring of the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose.

A new in-line method for the monitoring of enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is described. Using a new in situ microscope prototype, the noninvasive determination of particle size distributions was possible. For the automated analysis of the acquired images, a new processing algorithm called CelluloseAnalyzer was developed.

On-line monitoring of large cultivations of microalgae and cyanobacteria.

Large cultivations of microalgae will benefit from on-line monitoring to achieve process control and improved productivity. This monitoring requires reliable sensors for on-line, in situ measurement of both physicochemical and biological process variables. Although standard industrial sensors can be used for many physicochemical variables, monitoring methods for most biological quantities rely on sensors that are currently suitable only for laboratory scale or off-line use.

Comparison of the photoelectrochemical oxidation of methanol on rutile TiO2 (001) and (100) single crystal faces studied by intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy.

The photooxidation of methanol as a model substance for pollutants on rutile TiO(2) (001) and (100) surfaces was investigated using intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS). The results are analyzed in view of the influence of the surface structure, the methanol concentration and the electrode potential on the rate constants of charge transfer and recombination. The obtained results have been explained with a model combining the theory of IMPS for a bulk semiconductor surface and the nature of the surface-bound intermediates (alternatively mobile or immobile OH˙ radicals).

In-situ imaging sensors for bioprocess monitoring: state of the art.

Over the last two decades, more and more applications of sophisticated sensor technology have been described in the literature on upstreaming and downstreaming for biotechnological processes (Middendorf et al. J Biotechnol 31:395-403, 1993; Lausch et al. J Chromatogr A 654:190-195, 1993; Scheper et al.

Development of a flow-through microscopic multitesting system for parallel monitoring of cell samples in biotechnological cultivation processes.

The automated monitoring of cell variables in cultivation processes is a key technology in modern bioscience. In this article an innovative analytical tool for monitoring of cell densities in shaking-flask cultivations--consisting of a flow-through microscope with an automated image analysis software integrated in a FIA sampling system--is presented. This atline multitesting system was optimized by varying the height of the microscopes sampling zone.

Optical inline measurement procedures for counting and sizing cells in bioprocess technology.

To observe and control cultivation processes, optical sensors are used increasingly. Important parameters for controlling such processes are cell count, cell size distribution, and the morphology of cells. Among turbidity measurement methods, imaging procedures are applied for determining these process parameters.

A review of non-invasive optical-based image analysis systems for continuous bioprocess monitoring.

To observe and control cultivation processes, optical sensors are used increasingly. Important variables for controlling such processes are cell count, cell size distribution and the morphology of cells. Among turbidity measurement methods, imaging procedures are applied for determining these process values.

Online monitoring of microcarrier based fibroblast cultivations with in situ microscopy.

Animal cell culture is widely used in biotechnology for the production of many biological products. In situ microscopes acquire images directly from cell suspensions and analyze the images in matters of cell concentration, cell size distribution and cell morphology. Their applicability was already proven for yeast and suspended mammalian cell cultivations.