SeqImprove: Machine-Learning-Assisted Curation of Genetic Circuit Sequence Information.

The progress and utility of synthetic biology is currently hindered by the lengthy process of studying literature and replicating poorly documented work. Reconstruction of crucial design information through post hoc curation is highly noisy and error-prone. To combat this, author participation during the curation process is crucial.

Identifying and Eliminating Laboratory Contamination by Topical Testosterone Therapeutics.

Many prescription and over-the-counter drugs are available as topical formulations. Contamination of clinical laboratory workspaces by topical drugs may increase the risk of potential interference with diagnostic testing. An example of localized workspace contamination attributed to a topical hormonal drug (testosterone, T) is presented to highlight significant challenges in identifying and resolving this potential problem.

Further comparisons of assays for detecting MAG IgM autoantibodies.

Anti-MAG antibodies are commonly found in the sera of patients with demyelinating sensorimotor neuropathy and IgM paraproteinemia. Our objective here was to compare MAG results obtained by two different laboratories using similar methods (Western blot, EIA, IFA). Western blot (WB) employing MAG from monkey was less sensitive (72.

A multiplexed fluorescent microsphere immunoassay for antibodies to pneumococcal capsular polysaccharides.

We developed a multiplexed indirect immunofluorescent assay for antibodies to pneumococcal polysaccharides (PnPs) based on the Luminex multiple analyte profiling system (Luminex, Austin, TX). The assay simultaneously determines serum IgG concentrations to 14 PnPs serotypes: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6B, 7F, 8, 9N, 9V, 12F; 14, 18C, 19F, and 23F. To assess the specificity of the multiplexed assay for each individual serotype, inhibition-of-binding studies were conducted using adult serum samples obtained after pneumococcal vaccination.