The test procedure demonstrates the efficacy of substances and/or methods which eliminate infectivity using several quantitative measurement parameters (HBsAg, HBeAg, mRNA, cccDNA) for the detection of HBV infection after a titer reduction by more than 4 log 10 steps and is, thus, the first HBV infectivity test to meet the new guidelines of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the German Association for the Control of Virus Diseases (DVV) for the efficacy of disinfectants and virus-inactivating procedures.
Simultaneous insights into the micro dynamics and nano functionality of biological samples can be facilitated via correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM). Scientists from Goethe University Frankfurt am Main developed novel software CLEM. It allows for the automated and efficient correlation of light- and electron-microscopic images from any two light and electron microscopes of choice with a precision of up to 25 nm.
Microalgae store chemical energy as lipids. They include a large number of high-quality, poly-unsaturated fatty acids, which are essential for human nutrition and health.
Researchers from Goethe University in Frankfurt developed a method to increase the concentration of lipids in microalgae significantly by genetical manipulation of the enzyme TAG lipase.
Legionella are aerobic bacteria which appear naturally in all surface water and groundwater. From there, despite water treatment, and through raw water they can reach the drinking water systems and other water transporting installations. The invention LegiGuard is a fully automated minilab for the qualitative and quantitative determination of legionella in water pipes for e.g. drinking water. The device is able to take a defined volume of water from the water stream and to determine the existing amount of legionella. For this purpose, fluorescently labeled immunobeads are used, allowing easy detection of presence of legionella. The result is directly and electronically communicated to the user, after 1.5 – 2 hours.
Beta lactones are synthetically produced small molecules that tremendously reduce the pathogenicity of Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA. They act by inhibiting the caseinolytic protease P (ClpP), a key regulator of multiple virulence factors. Thereby the production of detrimental bacterial toxins (i.e. hemolysins, toxic shock syndrome toxin, enterotoxins) is prevented resulting in disarming the bacteria during infection. Bacterial killing and clearance can therefore be achieved through the action of the immune system.
Importantly, the concept of antivirulence prevents both the biggest challenges in antibiotic treatment today: resistance development and side effects. This also allows for longer treatment periods.
A newly developed method for water treatment makes it possible to reduce costs of investment as well as energy consumption of conventional seawater desalination plants. The method comprises an innovative, environment-friendly und energy efficient solution, which is suitable for desalination as well as for process water treatment from oil or gas industry, mining, electroplating, food industry and Zero Liquid Discharge – ZLD.
Tailored to the current practical requirements, the FoBt Sensor has been developed by the Institute of Nanotechnologies and Optical Technologies (iNano) at the Niederrhein University of Applied Science. Persistent and unrecognized moisture lead to moisture damage and loss of quality on different kinds of products. The novel optical fiber sensor (FoBt Sensor) from iNano combines the detection of water condensation on the probe tip surface with an active determination of the condensation rate and the temperature measurement at the sensor head. This is made possible through the application of the optical fiber sensor principle and the special design of the probe tip.
Interference is one of the most performance-limiting factors in wireless communications systems. The standard of 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) employs Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) in the downlink, where orthogonality between different users within one cell can be guaranteed by scheduling simultaneously in frequency and time domain. However, LTE is designed to consider a frequency reuse factor of one between adjacent cells leading to strong inter-cell-interference between adjacent cells.
Users especially located at cell edges may experience strong interference by transmissions from neighboring cells, scheduling their users at the same physical resource. Thus, intercell interference coordination (ICIC) techniques are an indispensable and widely discussed topic in the standardization process of LTE.
Scientists at the Department of Communications Engineering at the University of Bremen developed a coordination scheme to improve the reallocation procedure of succeeding pre-coding matrices, while avoiding sudden change in the inter-cell interference experienced at neighboring cells. To do so, they use the fact that different matrix combinations exhibit lower variations in the inter-cell-interference than others. The advantage of this approach is that the variation of the interference level is only determined by the two pre-coding matrices of the allocation, and not by further network, mobile devices or transmission specific parameters
This will lead to significant improvement on system performance on mobile devices to an edge of a cell or located next to base stations as well of base stations without impact on LTE standard. Besides, network stability is also improved.
Up to now, simulations of the computer-implemented method are successful.
At Aalen University, a novel composite material and a production process thereof was developed which makes the structural and material separation of current collector and cathode material unnecessary. The cathode material can be manufactured and formed in a continuous single stage electroplating process without the need to add binding material and electrically conductive particles. The proportion of active material in the cathode can thus be increased. Moreover, the mechanical stability and the efficiency of Li-Ion cells and Li-Sulfur cells improve.
The presented technology is a newly developed sucrose supported synthesis of transition metal doped zinc oxide nanoparticles, which can be used as active material for the fabrication of high capacity anodes for lithium-ion batteries. The general formula of these materials is TMxZn(1-x)O (0.02 ≤ x ≤ 0.14), with the transition metal TM being, for instance, Fe or Co. The obtained nanoparticles show a homogenous particle size distribution between 20-30 nm. Anodes made of such material exhibit specific capacities exceeding 900 mAh/g,an enhanced cycling stability, as well as an improved high rate capability, particularly after applying a carbonaceous coating. Extended laboratory tests have already demonstrated the advantages of the invented material for use in lithium-ion battery anodes. Further improvement is currently under development at the MEET battery research center. PROvendis offers licenses for this invention to interested companies on behalf of the University of Muenster, Germany.
Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a novel, simple and potentially cost-saving production process for macro-porous ceramics. The process is based on the use of the capillary effect in a three phase suspension of nano- to micro-sized solid particulates. In this manner, it is possible to fabricate ceramics and polymer foams with macro-pores of diameter 50 nm or greater and narrow pore size distribution.
The invention describes a charge equalizer which connects a strong with a weak cell directly via a multiplexed DC-bus and a DC/DC-converter. Due to the direct connection the energy dissipation is much lower compared to systems where the energy is only transferred from one neighbour to the next.
The direct connection only requires low voltage components which simplifies the circuit design, reduces its costs and increases the efficiency. By additional implementation of an energy buffer, the technical complexity of switching cells with differing voltage levels can be reduced and hence the design of the multiplexed DC bus can be simplified.
1,3-Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) is a chemical compound used extensively in the cosmetics industry and with a high prospect of being used in synthesis of new biodegradable polymers if the market price were lower. In this invention, the DHA synthesis from glycerol is carried out photocatalytically under normal conditions using low-cost heterogeneous photocatalysts and easily available oxidizing agents.
Targeted therapy has become a promising therapeutic approach within the last decade due to its reduced toxicity. However, further development of targeted approaches for the specific delivery of therapeutically active substances is required. Especially the targeted delivery of macromolecular charged drug-like molecules, for example antagomirs and siRNA, is limited since these candidates do not cross cell membranes but rather have to be actively provided to the intracellular milieu.
The present invention provides novel aptamers capable of recognizing tumour cells and delivering macromolecular molecules into tumour cells. Aptamers are short single-stranded nucleic acids that recognize specific target structures with high affinity and specificity. Additionally, since aptamers have been shown to possess almost no toxicity and immunogenicity they are promising candidates for biomedical applications.
DNA-methylation (DNAm) of CpG dinucleotides is a key epigenetic process. Upon cell division, the DNAm pattern is maintained on the newly synthesized DNA strand by DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), whereas DNAm pattern changes are triggered by DNMT3A and DNMT3B that act as de novo methyltransferases.
DNMT3A and DNMT3B play a pivotal role in the epigenetic regulation and development of hematopoietic malignant myeloid disease, such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome. About 22% of AML patients harbor mutations in DNMT3A, which likely cause the disease. However, little is known about how DNMT3s are epigenetically controlled.
The present invention provides a novel diagnostic and prognostic method for hematopoietic malignant myeloid disease. This method is based on the identification of aberrant hypermethylation at an internal promoter region of DNMT3A, which occurs in about 40% of AML patients.
The present invention provides a safe DTI-antidote able to antagonize the anticoagulant functions of various DTI, such as dabigatran, hirudin, bivalirudin and argatroban.
The exosite structures of thrombin are blocked by complex formation between thrombin and a recently developed aptamer (Müller et al. 2007). As this aptamer does not block the active center of thrombin, the aptamer caged thrombin (Apta-thrombin) retains full reactivity towards DTI but looses its procoagulant functions. This is an important prerequisite to avoid unwanted thrombotic site effects of the DTI antidote.
The ability of apta-thrombin to antagonize the anticoagulant functions of various DTI has been demonstrated in plasma-based studies and in a mouse-model. A prothrombotic response was not induced by apta-thrombin as measured by molecular activation markers. This feature renders apta-thrombin a safe DTI antidote.
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