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Recent progress in algal biotechnology has identified new products based on their broad evolutionary origin. Novel metabolites were found for pharmacy, food industry, medicine e.g. tumor suppression and antibiotics. However, sustainable and economical algal production for crude oil replacement is limited by extremely low space time yields in photobioreactors. The consequences are a high energy burden for mass flow dependent processes and the need of space being in conflict with sustainable landscape management. New concepts using algae not as biomass producers but as living catalysts may open new options.

Understanding the complex interactions between metabolism and the immune system (“meta-flammation”) is crucial for the identification of key immunomodulatory factors as potential therapeutic targets in obesity and in cardiovascular diseases. Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) is an important factor of innate immunity and is expressed in adipocytes. CAMP therefore might play a role as an adipokine in metaflammation and adipose inflammation. Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 is another component of the innate immune system that is expressed and functionally active in adipocytes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of TLR9 signaling on CAMP expression in adipocytes and in adipose tissue. CAMP gene expression in murine 3T3-L1 and human SGBS adipocytes and in murine and human adipose tissues was quantified by real-time PCR. TLR9 knockdown was applied in murine 3T3-L1 adipocytes via siRNA transfection. Adipocyte inflammation was induced in vitro by TNFα stimulation. Serum CAMP concentrations in TLR9 knockout (KO) and in wildtype mice were quantified by ELISA. CAMP gene expression was considerably increased in 3T3-L1 adipocytes during differentiation. TNFα significantly induced CAMP gene expression in mature adipocytes, which was antagonized by inhibitors of NF-κB and PI3K signaling. Cell-free nucleic acids (cfDNA) as endogenous TLR9 ligand significantly impaired CAMP gene expression, whereas synthetic agonistic and antagonistic TLR9 ligands had no effect. Cellular TLR9 knockdown reduced adipocyte CAMP gene expression in vitro and male TLR9 knockout mice exhibited lower systemic CAMP concentrations than wildtype mice. CAMP and TLR9 gene expression were correlated positively in murine and human subcutaneous but not in intraabdominal/visceral adipose tissues. These findings suggest a regulatory role of TRL9 in adipocytic CAMP expression as a novel putative molecular mechanism in adipose tissue innate immunity.

Elderly or unfit patients with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) face a poor prognosis and are likely to rapidly exhaust all registered treatment options. Pharmacoscopy, an image-basedex vivodrug screening platform, has previously been suggested as a tool for treatment selection in AML. We used pharmacoscopy to generate personalized treatment recommendations for 30 relapse settings of 24 AML patients which exhausted all standard therapeutic options. We evaluated whether pharmacoscopy can be employed within the narrow timeframe available under an AML relapse setting, how often recommended regimens could be started and whether they provided durable clinical benefits. 17 of 30 screens (56.7%) resulted in patients receiving a recommended therapy, leading to promising trends in clinical response and survival. A drug regimen’s integrated pharmacoscopy score proved to be an excellent predictor of clinical response: Patients receiving a regimen with above-median scores showed significantly higher rates of complete remission (OR 3.01, p < 0.0005) and significantly longer overall survival (ratio 3.39, p < 0.006). We conclude that pharmacoscopy is an efficient and valuable tool for therapy selection in AML at relapse and propose concrete measures to further improve clinical implementation.

Ein Team der Uniklinik Tübingen und der Oberender AG hat im Auftrag der KBV untersucht, wie das Behandlungsspektrum einer bettenführenden Erweiterten Ambulanten Versorgung (EAV) genauer gefasst werden dann. Das Gutachten zeigt, wie hoch die Potenziale von Intersektoralen Gesundheitszentren (IGZ) für integrierte und interprofessionelle Versorgungsansätze sind.

Organisations are involved in various types of negotiation. As digitalisation advances, such business negotiations are to a large extent electronic negotiations. Consequently, dedicated training for such electronic negotiations is important for mastering negotiation skills. We designed a gamified negotiation system used in e-negotiation training to increase participants’ motivation, engagement, use of the system’s negotiation support features and to improve their decision making. The quantitative evaluation using students as subjects shows higher motivation, engagement and better system and decision-making skills for participants in the gamified training compared to a conventional training. Furthermore, female participants show higher engagement in the gamified training than males. An analysis of the individual elements in the system provides insights into participants’ perceptions and shows that the inclusion of a domain-specific feedback element yields motivational results that are almost similar compared to those using traditional game elements. Organisations can employ the designed artefact for fundamental and effective e-negotiation training.

Latency is an intrinsic property of all human-computer systems. As it can affect user experience and performance, it should be kept as low as possible for real-time applications. To identify the source of latency, measuring partial latencies is necessary. We present a new method for measuring the latency of graphics frameworks on X11-based systems. Our tool measures the time between an input event arriving at the kernel until a pixel is updated in graphics memory. In a systematic evaluation with 36 test applications, we found that our method delivers consistent results for most tested frameworks, and does not add a significant amount of additional end-to-end latency. Even though further investigation is required to explain inconsistencies with Qt-based frameworks, our method measures the latency of graphics frameworks reliably and accurately in all other cases.

Background The postprandial regulation of angiopoietin-like proteins (Angptls) and their expression in adipocytes is poorly characterized. Objective Circulating Angptl3 and 4 were analyzed in healthy individuals undergoing either an oral lipid tolerance test (OLTT; n = 98) or an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT; n = 99). Venous blood was drawn after 0, 2, 4, and 6 h during OLTT and after 0, 1, and 2 h during OGTT. Anthropometric and laboratory parameters were assessed and concentrations of Angptls were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Angptl gene expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and in murine adipose tissues and cellular fractions was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. Results Angptl3 concentrations significantly decreased while Angptl4 levels continuously increased during OLTT. Both proteins remained unaffected during OGTT. Angptl3 and Angptl4 were expressed in murine subcutaneous and visceral AT with higher mRNA levels in mature adipocytes when compared to the stroma-vascular cell fraction. Both proteins were strongly induced during 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation and they were unresponsive to glucose in mature fat cells. Adipocyte Angptl3 (but not Angptl4) mRNA expression was inhibited by the polyunsaturated fatty acids arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, whereas nine types of dietary fatty acids remained without any effect. Conclusions There is evidence of short-time regulation of Angptl3/4 levels upon metabolic stress. Angptl4 expression is high and Angptl3 expression is low in AT and restricted mainly to mature adipocytes without any differences concerning fat compartments. Whereas dietary fatty acids and glucose are without any effect, omega-3/-6-polyunsaturated fatty acids inhibited Anptl3 expression in adipocytes.

Metabolic engineering 68, 199-209 (2021). doi:10.1016/j.ymben.2021.10.006, Published by Academic Press, Orlando, Fla.

This paper highlights an innovative, low-cost rapid-prototyping method for generating microfluidic chips with extraordinary short fabrication times of only a few minutes. Microchannels and inlet/outlet ports are created by controlled deposition of aqueous microdroplets on a cooled surface resulting in printed ice microstructures, which are in turn coated with a UV-curable acrylic cover layer. Thawing leaves an inverse imprint as a microchannel structure. For an exemplary case, we applied this technology for creating a microfluidic chip for cell-customized optical-cell analysis. The chip design includes containers for cell cultivation and analysis. Container shape, length, position, and angle relative to the main channel were iteratively optimized to cultivate and analyze different cell types. With the chip, we performed physiological analyses of morphologically distinct prokaryotic Corynebacterium glutamicum DM1919, eukaryotic Hansenula polymorpha RB11 MOX-GFP, and phototrophic Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 cells via quantitative time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. The technology is not limited to rapid prototyping of complex biocompatible microfluidics. Further exploration may include printing with different materials other than water, printing on other substrates in-situ biofunctionalization, the inclusion of electrodes and many other applications.

As photolithoautotrophs, cyanobacteria are key to a future photobiotechnology. We studied the capacity of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 to produce trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline, a valuable chiral synthon using oxygenic photosynthesis and a recombinant L-proline-4-hydroxylase. At scale, such a process would use comparable area of land to a heterotrophic one if the photosynthesis of sugar is also considered. Phototrophs offer a huge potential for higher production rates and product titers.

Light- and elevated temperature-induced degradation (LeTID) is assumed to be triggered by the hydrogen content in the crystalline silicon bulk. This article investigates differently thick atomic layer-deposited aluminum oxide (AlO x ) layers acting as diffusion barrier for hydrogen originating from a hydrogen-rich silicon nitride (SiN y :H) layer. We demonstrate that the extent of LeTID can be significantly reduced by adjusting the AlO x layer thickness up to 25 nm. To directly measure the diffusing species, a deuterium-rich SiN y :D layer is deposited and the deuterium content is measured in an amorphous Si layer at the back side of the wafer via secondary ion mass spectrometry. Thus, a diffusion length of deuterium in the AlO x layer of (3.8±1.6) nm is determined at a firing temperature of (743±2)∘C . These results are not only a contribution to determine the LeTID formation dynamics, but also can be used to control LeTID in silicon wafers and solar cells. published