Abstract: Red blood cells are removed from whole blood or a fraction thereof by contacting whole blood with a combination of an agglutinating agent and nucleating particles to form clusters of red blood cells. High molecular weight polyethylene glycol may be added further to enhance agglutination. The clusters of red blood cells are much larger than the size of individual red blood cells, so that the clusters can easily be filtered through a porous medium. The plasma which is substantially free of red blood cells is further passed through a filter that optionally contains an additional agglutinating agent.

Abstract: Ganglioside lactam analogue derivatives of general formula (I) in which A is a sialic acid residue of formula (II) which is bound via the dashed line in the 2-position; and in which Z.sup.1 is --OH or a group --NHX.sup.1, and Y.sup.30 is --CH.sub.3 or --CH.sub.2 OH; X.sup.1 and Y.sup.1 together form a bond and Y.sup.2 is --OH or a group OR.sup.20, or X.sup.1 and Y.sup.2 together form a bond and Y.sup.1 is --OH or --NHAc; Y.sup.3 is --OH or a group --OR.sup.20 ; R.sup.1 is H or a sialic acid residue of formula (III) which is bound via the dashed line in the 2-position; and in which Z.sup.2 is --OH or a group --NHX.sup.2, and Y.sup.30 is as defined above; X.sup.2 and Y.sup.10 together form a bond and Y.sup.20 is --OH, or X.sup.2 and Y.sup.20 together form a bond and Y.sup.10 is --OH; with the provisos that when R.sup.1 is H, then Z.sup.1 is --NHX.sup.1, and that when R.sup.1 is a sialic acid residue of formula (III), then at least one of Z.sup.1 and Z.sup.2 is different from --OH; R.sup.

Abstract: A method of treating and/or preventing alopecia (baldness, deficient hair growth) comprises administering to a patient in need thereof a therapeutically or prophylactically effective amount of a sulfated mono-, di- or oligosaccharide or a derivative, salt or complex thereof. The saccharide is preferably polysulfated, such as a polysulfated disaccharide, in particular sucrose, or a derivative, complex or salt thereof. Especially interesting polysulfated disaccharides are sucrose pentasulfate, sucrose hexasulfate, sucrose heptasulfate and sucrose octasulfate, e.g. in the form of a potassium or sodium salt, or in the form of sucralfate.

Abstract: The invention describes biological assays in which hydrogen peroxide is used as an oxidizing agent, or wherein hydrogen peroxide is used to oxidize a dye or other intermediate to generate a detectable species. The stability of the hydrogen peroxide in the presence of at least one other enzyme which decomposes hydrogen peroxide is enhanced by the addition of a suitable inhibitor for the enzyme and the inhibitor does not substantially inhibit enzymes used in the assay. When catalase is the enzyme to be inhibited, catalase inhibitors that can be used in the biological systems include hydroxylamine sulfate. The enzyme inhibitor can be incorporated in an integral analytic device.

Abstract: Multimeric hemoglobin-like proteins are obtained by crosslinking cysteines of the component tetramers, or by genetically fusing globin-like domains of one tetramer with those of another, by means of an interdomain spacer sequence. Artificial cysteines are introduced selectively in a single globin-like domain per tetramer to control polymerization.

Abstract: Whole scutella are isolated from immature zygotic embryos of cereal plants and cultured, in the absence of the zygotic embryo axis, to produce somatic embryos, which in turn are converted into plantlets. The scutellar cells optionally are transformed with foreign DNA so that at least some of the resulting plantlets are transgenic. The regeneration is much more efficient and rapid than with conventional methods.

Abstract: The assay off the present Invention is of particular use for detecting drugs, hormones, steroids, antibodies and other molecules circulating in the blood of a mammal or other animal.

Abstract: Soluble human IFN-gamma receptor extracellular fragment and salts, functional derivatives, precursors and active fractions thereof are provided in substantially purified form. They are useful as pharmaceutically active substances for protecting against the deleterious effects of IFN-gamma, e.g. in autoimmune diseases.

Abstract: In order to obtain a novel binding protein against a chosen target, DNA molecules, each encoding a protein comprising one of a family of similar potential binding domains and a structural signal calling for the display of the protein on the outer surface of a chosen bacterial cell, bacterial spore or phage (genetic package) are introduced into a genetic package. The protein is expressed and the potential binding domain is displayed on the outer surface of the package. The cells or viruses bearing the binding domains which recognize the target molecule are isolated and amplified. The successful binding domains are then characterized. One or more of these successful binding domains is used as a model for the design of a new family of potential binding domains, and the process is repeated until a novel binding domain having a desired affinity for the target molecule is obtained.

Abstract: The invention is an apparatus and method for performing the Western Blot Assay and other assays. The invention includes a tray within which multiple samples can be assayed with a minimum of operator attention. The tray that is desirably used with the apparatus is multichambered and can be alternately agitated and drained according to drive cards and/or other controls such as electronic controls. The tray is designed in such a way that reagents and washing fluids, which are added sequentially and then cleared, do not back flow into the chambers of the tray.

Abstract: A growth promotant comprising microgranules having a core consisting of one or more enzymes selected from: i) protein digesting enzymes; ii) carbohydrate digesting enzymes; iii) fat digesting enzymes; and iv) fiber digesting enzymes in an immobilized form; the core being encapsulated within a water soluble film, and coated with an enteric coating comprising an alkali soluble, acid insoluble polymer, or a high molecular weight polymer whose structure is substituted with or contains windows of fatty acid or other material capable of being solubilized by intestinal juices. A method for increasing animal growth comprising the administration of a growth promoting amount of the growth promotant is also described, as is a method of producing the growth promotant.

Abstract: The present invention provides for polynucleotides capable of producing recombinant hemoglobins that have a P.sub.50 of 26-36 torr. This invention makes possible the commercial production of wholly artificial hemoglobin, whether conventional or mutant in form, which can be used as blood substitutes.

Abstract: A dye is covalently bound to a polymeric film, especially a polyhydric polymer, for assays and other purposes. The dye may be one which, when it comes into contact with hydrogen peroxide, changes color to indicate the presence of hydrogen peroxide. This dyed film may be used in qualitative or quantitative assays. This method chemically immobilizes dyes on support matrices with much higher yields of immobilized dye than has heretofore been possible. The covalently immobilized dye may be immobilized on solid matrix particles and combined with a free-flowing dye component to form a two component dye system. By combining a dyed film-former with a film-opener, the amount of dye available for assay is greatly enhanced. This provides a dye system which can be used to detect and measure quantitatively, accurately and precisely high levels of hydrogen peroxide. These high levels of hydrogen peroxide may result from the enzyme-mediated decomposition of various analytes from undiluted whole blood samples.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for separating red blood cells by density are described. Older red blood cells are more dense than younger ones. Certain changes in the physiology are recorded in changes in hemoglobin or the red blood cells. By assaying different aged red blood cells, one can determine the historical physiological changes over a period of many weeks. Improved separation of red blood cells is accomplished by using rigid capillary tubes having an inner surface which augments the density equilibrium of red blood cells and/or incrementally increasing the centrifugation forces, as well as by chemically treating red blood cells to improve their deformability.

Abstract: The alpha subunits of hemoglobin, which in nature are formed as separate polypeptide chains which bind noncovalently to the beta subunits, are here provided in the form of the novel molecule di-alpha globin, a single polypeptide chain defined by connecting the two alpha subunits either directly via peptide bond or indirectly by a flexible amino acid or peptide linker. Di-alpha globin may be combined in vivo or in vitro with beta globin and heme to form hemoglobin. Di-alpha globin is expressed by recombinant DNA techniques. Di-beta globin may be similarly obtained.DNA encoding alpha globin fusion proteins is provided.

Abstract: The stable maintenance of a replicon in a population of growing cells is ensured by providing the replicon with a sequence which encodes a product capable of killing the cell harboring the replicon or the progeny of the cell (or encodes a precursor for the product) and a sequence encoding an antagonist for the killing product (or a precursor for the antagonist). The antagonist is one which suppresses the killing product (or a precursor for the killing product) in cells harboring the replicon, whereas the antagonist activity decays when the replicon is lost from the cell so that the antagonist (or its precursor) is no longer continuously expressed. This means that the killing product (or its precursor) present in the now replicon-free cell is no longer suppressed by the antagonist, resulting in cell death.Cells containing the thus stabilized replicon may be grown on a large scale without any significant loss of the replicon from the cell population even when no selection pressure is applied.

Abstract: A recombinant myelomonocytic differentiation antigen CD14 has a primary amino acid sequence substantially equivalent to that of native human CD14. A process for isolating a DNA clone pCD-CD14 encoding CD14 comprises cell surface screening of COS 7 cells transfected with expressible DNA clones by monoclonal antibodies to CD14.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing isolating and purifying trophoblast interferon proteins such as .beta.-interferons, .alpha..sub.I -interferon proteins, .alpha..sub.II -interferon proteins, and .gamma.-interferon proteins, and to a method of using the interferon proteins, e.g. for inhibiting tumoral growth or metastatic processes, for preventing graft-versus-host reaction, against leukemia, against viral activity, and against infection of the placenta; as well as antibodies against the interferon proteins.

Abstract: A stereodirected process for synthesizing .alpha.-N-acetylgalactosaminides from N-acetylgalactosamine which, in a preferred embodiment, comprises:reacting N-acetylgalactosamine with a dialkyl acetal of an aldehyde or ketone to form a 4,6-O-alkylidene derivative;reacting said 4,6-O-alkylidene derivative with a protecting group compound to attach a protecting group selectively to 3-OH of said derivative to form a 3-O-protected derivative;reacting said 3-O-protected derivative with an anomeric group to form a glycosyl donor;reacting said glycosyl donor with an alcohol to form an N-acetylgalactosaminide.

Abstract: A monoclonal or polyclonal antibody directed against urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (u-PAR), or a subsequence, analogue or glycosylation variant thereof. Antibodies are disclosed which react with free u-PAR or with complexes between u-PA and u-PAR and which are capable of 1) catching u-PAR in ELISA, or 2) detecting u-PAR, e.g. in blotting, or 3) in radioimmunoprecipitation assay precipitate purified u-PAR in intact or fragment form, or 4) is useful for immunohistochemical detection of u-PAR, e.g. in immunostaining of cancer cells, such as in tissue sections at the invasive front, or 5) inhibits the binding of pro-u-PA and active u-PA and thereby inhibits cell surface plasminogen activation. Methods are disclosed 1) for detecting or quantifying u-PAR, 2) for targeting a diagnostic to a cell containing a u-PAR on the surface, 3) for preventing or counteracting proteolytic activity in a mammal.