170 research outputs found
New Generation Software-Only Architecture for Gaze-Contingent Eyetracking Experimentation
No full textThe author shares 10+ years of experience in eyetracking research. Most crucial technicalities are described, different programming approaches are discussed. Network Time Protocol [19] application to data stream synchronization is reviewed separately, which renders phototransistor on-screen sensors partially redundant in some of psychophysics disciplines (known as TTL hardware).</p
Monitoring Antibiotics and Inflammatory Markers in Human Blood: Impact in Choice of Antibiotic Therapy and used Methods
No full textIn the modern world, the problem of antibiotic therapy is acute. Despite the diversity of existing antibiotic drugs, their efficacy decreases as new, resistant forms of pathogenic microorganisms emerge. It is extremely difficult to control such processes and even more difficult to treat severe bacterial infections. In such situations, an individual approach to each patient is required and physicians need parameters to estimate the efficacy of antibiotic therapy. This review discusses the significance of monitoring the content of antibiotics in the blood for this purpose, in combination with the content of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein and procalcitonin. The basic principles of antibiotic therapy, and factors in the resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics, are examined. Approaches to assess the efficacy of antibiotic therapy, as well as methods to detect antibiotics and inflammatory markers in the blood of patients, and comparative assessment of their capabilities and limitations, are described
Network of gold conjugates for enhanced sensitive immunochromatographic assays of troponins
No full textHighly sensitive detection of cardiac troponins I and T (cTnI and cTnT) was completed by immunochromatography with double amplification, through the binding of functionalized gold nanoparticles (GNPs). The robust nature of the approach, based on the formation of nanoparticle networks through the biotin-streptavidin interaction, was confirmed; the choice of the best assay parameters for maximal increase in ICA sensitivity was demonstrated. A bifunctional conjugate of GNPs with biotinylated specific IgG and two auxiliary conjugates, GNP-biotin and GNP-streptavidin, form three-component aggregates in the analytical zone of the test strip. The inclusion of abundant gold labels in the resulting immune complex leads to an amplified colorimetric signal. The limits of detection (LoDs) of cTnI and cTnT were 0.9 and 0.4 ng mL-1, respectively, which is 3 times lower than the LoDs of more commonly used systems. Visual LoDs were 10-fold lower in concentration. The enhancement has been realized both in single and double assay formats; analysis of cTnI and cTnT presented the same characteristics. This journal i
Theoretical and Experimental Comparison of Different Formats of Immunochromatographic Serodiagnostics
No full textIn this study, a comparative theoretical and experimental analysis of two immuno-chromatographic serodiagnostics schemes, which differ in the immobilization of immunoreagents and the order of the formation of immune complexes, is performed. Based on the theoretical models, the assays are characterized to determine which scheme has a higher quantity of the detected complex and thus ensures the sensitivity of the analysis. The results show that for the effective detection of low-affinity antibodies, the scheme involving the immobilization of the antigen on gold nanoparticles and the antibody-binding protein on the test strip was more sensitive than the predominantly used scheme, which inverts the immunoreagents’ locations. The theoretical predictions were confirmed by the experimental testing of sera collected from tuberculosis patients
Addendum: Urusov, A.E.; Zherdev, A.V.; Petrakova, A.V.; Sadykhov, E.G.; Koroleva, O.V.; Dzantiev, B.B. Rapid Multiple Immunoenzyme Assay of Mycotoxins. Toxins, 2015, 7, 238-254.
No full textThe authors would like to replace the Acknowledgements section with the following: [...
Development and Application of a Label-Free Fluorescence Method for Determining the Composition of Gold Nanoparticle–Protein Conjugates
No full textA method was developed for determining the composition of the conjugates between gold nanoparticles and proteins based on the intrinsic fluorescence of unbound protein molecules. The fluorescence was evaluated after separation of the conjugates from the reaction mixture by centrifugation. Gold nanoparticles obtained using the citrate technique (average diameter 24 nm) were conjugated at pH 5.4 with the following four proteins: human immunoglobulin G (IgG), bovine serum albumin (BSA), recombinant streptococcal protein G (protein G), and Kunitz-type soybean trypsin inhibitor (STI). The compositions of these conjugates were determined using the developed method. The conjugate compositions were dependent on the concentration of the added protein, and in all cases reached saturation. The equilibrium dissociation constants of the gold nanoparticle conjugates with IgG, BSA, protein G, STI in the initial section of the concentration dependence curve were 4, 6, 10, and 15 nM, respectively. Close to saturation, the corresponding values were 25, 76, 175, and 100 nM, respectively. The maximal binding capacities of a single gold nanoparticle for IgG, BSA, Protein G, and STI were 52, 90, 500, and 550, respectively, which agrees well with the hypothesis of monolayer immobilization
The Demidoff Church in the San Donato Estate in Florence
No full textThe article is about the decoration of the former Demidoffs’ house church in the villa of San
Donato. A part of it is now located in the church of the Nativity of Christ and St. Nicholas
the Thaumaturge in Florence (architect M. T. Preobrazhensky). The author has suggested the
probable appearance of the house church in the villa of San Donato based on notes of contemporaries,
analysis of the palace’s blueprints and the remaining elements of the decoration.
The ecclesiastical purpose of the surviving building of the “Demidoffs ex-chapel” has been
questioned and analyzed, based on D. Silvestri’s original sketches, from which it follows that
this is the building of the Odeon — a concert and theater hall. Particular attention is paid to
the carved decoration of the church, made in A. Barbetti’s workshop, to the iconostasis and
the gallery of local and small icons. Local icons of the iconostasis and icons of the apostles executed
in an academic manner by famous religious painter V. V. Vasilyev. However, the gallery
of small icons of the second tier of the iconostasis and the doors-kiots is stylistically close to
the icon-painting of the 17th century. Also, based on historical analysis and analysis of style,
the author sets up a hypothesis that the gallery of small icons from Demidoffs’ church belong
to “Nevyansk” or “Peshekhonovsk” icon-painting schools
Quantitative regularities of protein immobilization on the surfaces of gold nanoparticles
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