scholarly journals Beyond Agar: Gel Substrates with Improved Optical Clarity and Drug Efficiency and Reduced Autofluorescence for Microbial Growth Experiments

2015 ◽  
Vol 81 (16) ◽  
pp. 5639-5649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp A. Jaeger ◽  
Cameron McElfresh ◽  
Lily R. Wong ◽  
Trey Ideker
Keyword(s):  
Cost Savings ◽  
Colony Growth ◽  
Microtiter Plate ◽  
Biological Properties ◽  
Genetic Screens ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Fluorescent Reporter ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Support Matrix

ABSTRACTAgar, a seaweed extract, has been the standard support matrix for microbial experiments for over a century. Recent developments in high-throughput genetic screens have created a need to reevaluate the suitability of agar for use as colony support, as modern robotic printing systems now routinely spot thousands of colonies within the area of a single microtiter plate. Identifying optimal biophysical, biochemical, and biological properties of the gel support matrix in these extreme experimental conditions is instrumental to achieving the best possible reproducibility and sensitivity. Here we systematically evaluate a range of gelling agents by using the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeas a model microbe. We find that carrageenan and Phytagel have superior optical clarity and reduced autofluorescence, crucial for high-resolution imaging and fluorescent reporter screens. Nutrient choice and use of refined Noble agar or pure agarose reduce the effective dose of numerous selective drugs by >50%, potentially enabling large cost savings in genetic screens. Using thousands of mutant yeast strains to compare colony growth between substrates, we found no evidence of significant growth or nutrient biases between gel substrates, indicating that researchers could freely pick and choose the optimal gel for their respective application and experimental condition.

waveRAPID—A Robust Assay for High-Throughput Kinetic Screens with the Creoptix WAVEsystem

2021 ◽  
pp. 247255522110138
Author(s):  
Önder Kartal ◽  
Fabio Andres ◽  
May Poh Lai ◽  
Rony Nehme ◽  
Kaspar Cottier
Keyword(s):  
Drug Discovery ◽  
Fold Increase ◽  
Microtiter Plate ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Short Pulses ◽  
Cycle Times ◽  
Fragment Screening ◽  
New Instrument ◽  
Single Well ◽  
Compound Screening

Surface-based biophysical methods for measuring binding kinetics of molecular interactions, such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR) or grating-coupled interferometry (GCI), are now well established and widely used in drug discovery. Increasing throughput is an often-cited need in the drug discovery process and this has been achieved with new instrument generations where multiple interactions are measured in parallel, shortening the total measurement times and enabling new application areas within the field. Here, we present the development of a novel technology called waveRAPID for a further—up to 10-fold—increase in throughput, consisting of an injection method using a single sample. Instead of sequentially injecting increasing analyte concentrations for constant durations, the analyte is injected at a single concentration in short pulses of increasing durations. A major advantage of the new method is its ability to determine kinetics from a single well of a microtiter plate, making it uniquely suitable for kinetic screening. We present the fundamentals of this approach using a small-molecule model system for experimental validation and comparing kinetic parameters to traditional methods. By varying experimental conditions, we furthermore assess the robustness of this new technique. Finally, we discuss its potential for improving hit quality and shortening cycle times in the areas of fragment screening, low-molecular-weight compound screening, and hit-to-lead optimization.

Recent developments in China’s biopharmaceutical industry (2012-2017)

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 686-707
Author(s):  
Marcus Conlé
Keyword(s):  
Product Innovation ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Domestic Market ◽  
Growth Strategy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Biopharmaceutical Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Drug Regulator ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Product Portfolios

Purpose The paper aims to take stock of China’s recent biopharmaceutical industry development by analyzing product innovation and changes in the firms’ product portfolios during the five-year period between 2012 and 2017. Design/methodology/approach The paper introduces a classification of biopharmaceutical products. By applying the classification to the product data of China’s drug regulator, the CFDA, it becomes possible to trace the developments within the sector by looking at changes in the number of firms within each subgroup and changes in the number of subgroups in which each firm is involved. The classification allows an evaluation of the latest product innovation achievements. Findings The paper demonstrates a mild shakeout of firms in the relatively long-existing domestic market segments, a trend toward more specialized product portfolios and an enduring prevalence of innovation strategies aimed at exploiting relatively unpopulated domestic market niches instead of pioneering entirely new products. Especially the capability of upgrading to second-generation protein therapeutics has become a key criterion for separating the wheat and the chaff in China’s domestic sector. The paper moreover points out the relevance of acquisitions as a corporate growth strategy. Research limitations/implications The research does not consider complementary indicators, product pipelines in particular. Future research should compare patterns across emerging economies. Originality/value The paper is unique in using the CFDA database for systematic academic research on (bio)pharmaceutical innovation and in introducing a biopharmaceutical product classification to trace innovative activities and changes in corporate product portfolios over time.

scholarly journals In VitroAntibacterial Activity of NB-003 against Propionibacterium acnes

2011 ◽  
Vol 55 (9) ◽  
pp. 4211-4217 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Pannu ◽  
A. McCarthy ◽  
A. Martin ◽  
T. Hamouda ◽  
S. Ciotti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Infections ◽  
Propionibacterium Acnes ◽  
Resistant Mutant ◽  
Microtiter Plate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Oil In Water ◽  
Complete Disruption ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Gel Formulations

ABSTRACTNB-003 and NB-003 gel formulations are oil-in-water nanoemulsions designed for use in bacterial infections.In vitrosusceptibility ofPropionibacterium acnesto NB-003 formulations and comparator drugs was evaluated. Both NB-003 formulations were bactericidal against allP. acnesisolates, including those that were erythromycin, clindamycin, and/or tetracycline resistant. In the absence of sebum, the MIC90s/minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBC90s) for NB-003, NB-003 gel, salicylic acid (SA), and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) were 0.5/2.0, 1.0/2.0, 1,000/2,000, and 50/200 μg/ml, respectively. In the presence of 50% sebum, the MIC90s/MBC90s of NB003 and BPOs increased to 128/1,024 and 400/1,600 μg/ml, respectively. The MIC90s/MBC90s of SA were not significantly impacted by the presence of sebum. A reduction in the MBC90s for NB-003 and BPO was observed when 2% SA or 0.5% BPO was integrated into the formulation, resulting in MIC90s/MBC90s of 128/256 μg/ml for NB003 and 214/428 μg/ml for BPO. The addition of EDTA enhanced thein vitroefficacy of 0.5% NB-003 in the presence or absence of 25% sebum. The addition of 5 mM EDTA to each well of the microtiter plate resulted in a >16- and >256-fold decrease in MIC90and MBC90, yielding a more potent MIC90/MBC90of ≤1/<1 μg/ml. The kinetics of bactericidal activity of NB-003 againstP. acneswere compared to those of a commercially available product of BPO. Electron micrographs ofP. acnestreated with NB-003 showed complete disruption of bacteria. Assessment of spontaneous resistance ofP. acnesrevealed no stably resistant mutant strains.

Document supply and resource sharing in Portuguese libraries: the role of the National Library

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Maria Gaudêncio Soares
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Resource Sharing ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Supply System ◽  
National Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Recent Developments

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to describe the development of the Portuguese document supply system with particular emphasis on the role of the National Library but also in its academic and public library sectors.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is descriptive in nature.FindingsPortugal emerged from a long period of monarchy and dictatorship, profited from being a EU member, and libraries are now exploiting the advantages of information technology particularly for the benefit of remote users.Originality/valueThis is probably the first overview of historical and recent developments in document supply in Portugal.

China’s shadow banking sector: beneficial or harmful to economic growth?

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Barth ◽  
Tong Li ◽  
Wen Shi ◽  
Pei Xu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Commercial Banking ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Shadow Banking ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Made In

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine recent developments pertaining to China’s shadow banking sector. Shadow banking has the potential not only to be a beneficial contributor to continued economic growth, but also to contribute to systematic instability if not properly monitored and regulated. An assessment is made in this paper as to whether shadow banking is beneficial or harmful to China’s economic growth. Design/methodology/approach – The authors start with providing an overview of shadow banking from a global perspective, with information on its recent growth and importance in selected countries. The authors then focus directly on China’s shadow banking sector, with information on the various entities and activities that comprise the sector. Specifically, the authors examine the interconnections between shadow banking and regular banking in China and the growth in shadow banking to overall economic growth, the growth in the money supply and the growth in commercial bank assets. Findings – Despite the wide range in the estimates, the trend in the size of shadow banking in China has been upward over the examined period. There are significant interconnections between the shadow banking sector and the commercial banking sector. Low deposit rate and high reserve requirement ratios have been the major factors driving its growth. Shadow banking has been a contributor, along with money growth, to economic growth. Practical implications – The authors argue that shadow banking may prove useful by diversifying China’s financial sector and providing greater investments and savings opportunities to consumers and businesses throughout the country, if the risks of shadow banking are adequately monitored and controlled. Originality/value – To the authors’ knowledge, this paper is among the few to systematically evaluate the influence of shadow banking on China’s economic growth.

Service productivity as mutual learning

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 296-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Grönroos ◽  
Katri Ojasalo
Keyword(s):  
Open Systems ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Service Organizations ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mutual Learning ◽  
Context Learning ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Service Production ◽  
Service Productivity ◽  
Internal Efficiency

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the mutual learning implications for service productivity of the characteristics of service and service production. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper. The starting point is, first of all, that productivity as a management concept should help a firm to manage its economic profit, and secondly, that service organizations are open systems, where the customers participate as co-producers and are exposed to the firm’s production resources and processes. Unlike in manufacturing, to understand productivity in service organizations as a means of managing profit, cost effects and revenue effects of changes in the productions system cannot be separated. Due to the interaction between customers and the firm’s resources during service production, dialogical collaboration between them develops. This enables mutual learning. Findings – Given the social dynamics in service production processes, four learning processes that influence service productivity are identified. Two processes enhance the organizations’s internal efficiency (cost savings), and two enhance its external effectiveness (perceived quality, revenue generation); two are organization-driven, two are customer-driven. Research limitations/implications – The mutual learning model demonstrates how the service provider by learning from the dynamics of service encounters in many ways can manage the productivity of the organizations’s processes. It shows that learning enables improvement of service productivity through effects enhancing both internal efficiency and external effectiveness. Originality/value – In a productivity context, learning has not earlier been studied as a mutual learning phenomenon.

A novel design space concept for design of concrete foundation supporting chemical reactors

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Osama Bedair
Keyword(s):  
Design Space ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Space Representation ◽  
Chemical Reactors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Gas Recovery ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Numerical Finite Element ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
Reactor Models

PurposeThis paper presents a novel concept for design of concrete support system for chemical reactors used in refineries and petrochemical plants. Graphical method is described that can be used to size the concrete base and piling system. Recommendations are also provided to optimize the parameters required for the design. The procedure is illustrated for design of two reactor models commonly used in gas recovery units.Design/methodology/approachDesign space representation for the foundation system is described for chemical reactors with variable heights. The key points of the design graph are extracted from the numerical finite element models. The reactor load is idealized at discrete points to transfer the loads to the piles. Bilateral spring system is used to model the soil restrains.FindingsThe graphical approach is economical and provides the design engineer the flexibility to select the foundation parameters from wide range of options.Practical implicationsThe concept presented in the paper can be utilized by engineers in the industry for design of chemical reactors. It must be noted that little guidelines are currently available in practice addressing the structural design aspects.Originality/valueA novel concept is presented in this paper based on significant industrial design experience of reactor supports. Using the described method leads to significant cost savings in material quantity and engineering time.

A 12-pulse rectifier with passive harmonic reduction based on UIPT in more electric aircrafts

Circuit World ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohollah Abdollahi
Keyword(s):  
Power Factor ◽  
Harmonic Distortion ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Input Current ◽  
New Combination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Harmonic Reduction ◽  
Simulation Results

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a T autotransformer based 12-pulse rectifier with passive harmonic reduction in more electric aircraft applications. The T autotransformer uses only two main windings which result in volume, space, size, weight and cost savings. Also, the proposed unconventional inter-phase transformer (UIPT) with a lower kVA rating (about 2.6% of the load power) compared to the conventional inter-phase transformer results in a more harmonic reduction. Design/methodology/approach To increase rating and reduce the cost and complexity of a multi-pulse rectifier, it is well known that the pulse number must be increased. In some practical cases, a 12-pulse rectifier (12PR) is suggested as a good solution considering its simple structure and low weight. But the 12PR cannot technically meet the standards of harmonic distortion requirements for some industrial applications, and therefore, they must be used with output filters. In this paper, a 12PR is suggested, which consists of a T autotransformer 12PR and a passive harmonic reduction (PHR) based on the UIPT at direct current (DC) link. Findings To show the advantage of this new combination over other solutions, simulation results are used, and then, a prototype is implemented to evaluate and verify the simulation results. The simulation and experimental test results show that the input current total harmonic distortion (THD) of the suggested 12PR with a PHR based on UIPT is less than 5%, which meets the IEEE 519 requirements. Also, it is shown that in comparison with other solutions, it is cost effective, and at the same time, its power factor is near unity, and its rating is 29.92% of the load rating. Therefore, it is obvious that the proposed rectifier is a practical solution for more electric aircrafts. Originality/value The contributions of this paper are summarized as follows. The suggested design uses a retrofit T autotransformer, which meets all technical constraints, and in comparison, with other options, has less rating, weight, volume and cost. In the suggested rectifier, a PHR based on UIPT at its dc link of 12PR is used, which has good technical capabilities and lower ratings. In the PHR based on UIPT, an IPT is used, which has an additional secondary winding and four diodes. This solution leads to a reduction in input current THD and conduction losses of diodes. In full load conditions, the input line current THD and power factor are 4% and 0.99, respectively. The THD is less than 5%, which satisfies IEEE-519 and DO-160G requirements.

scholarly journals The soft side of environmentally-sustainable organizations

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charbel Jose Chiapetta Jabbour ◽  
Douglas William Scott Renwick
Keyword(s):  
Research Agenda ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Ecological Objectives ◽  
Human Side ◽  
Green Human Resource Management ◽  
New Research ◽  
Sustainable Organizations

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to present a discussion on the “soft and human” side of building environmentally sustainable organizations, a flourishing management subfield called “green human resource management” (GHRM), which concerns alignment of people and environmental management objectives of organizations. Design/methodology/approach The authors reviewed some of the most relevant research results in GHRM. Findings In this paper, the authors define GHRM, its workplace-based practices and some recent developments’ evidence on the positive impact of it on firms’ ecological objectives. The authors conclude by detailing a new research agenda in GHRM. Originality/value The authors conclude by detailing a new and contemporary research agenda in GHRM.

The factors behind working in virtual community

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 246-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anitha Acharya
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Substantial Cost ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Hourly Basis ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose In this paper, the prior research on virtual teams was reviewed to assess the state of the literature. The purpose of this paper is to determine why individuals prefer working in virtual teams (also termed liquid workers and part-time workers). Previous researchers have focussed on the benefits that organizations receive if they hire liquid workers, but to date, no research has been conducted to determine the perspective of these liquid workers. The various definitions of virtual teams are discussed and an integrative definition is proposed that suggests all teams may be defined in terms of their extent of virtualness. Design/methodology approach A systematic review of the literature on virtual teams was conducted. The data were collected from 12 informants. A thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings Six main themes were identified, namely, pliability, opportunities, increased earnings, vigour, family and transportation. Research limitations/implications This study was conducted in a three-metropolitan city in India and warrants being extended to rural and international settings to gain additional insights and confirmation of the research findings. Practical implications It is suggested that organizations who recruit liquid workers will be in a position for substantial cost savings; this is because organizations usually make payment of liquid workers’ wages on an hourly basis. This will help the organizations to schedule the number of working hours depending on their needs. Originality/value The current study is novel as there is a paucity of research in identifying the factors behind working in the virtual community in India. This study presents the first research of its kind to the best knowledge of the author, and the findings will be valuable for companies who are looking for cost savings.

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