Abstract: Methods and systems for the fabrication and application of Magnetically Actuated Propellers (MAPs) are described. MAPs are structures with typical feature sizes in the range of 20 nanometers up to 100 microns in one spatial dimension. MAPs are propellers that can be obtained from nano-structured surfaces and that can be produced in large numbers. MAPs are propelled and controlled by magnetic fields. The MAPs are optimized for low Reynolds number propulsion and can be moved in fluids and biological tissues. MAPs are useful for measurements, quantification, imaging and sensing purposes e.g. detecting biomolecules and for the controlled transportation of (drug- and bio-) molecules and the delivery of microscopic and nanoscale objects and/or materials or systems of therapeutic value. The MAPs are formed on a substrate and the released from the substrate using sonication, vibration, agitation, dissolution or etching which allows the MAPs to be produced in large numbers.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to photodetectors with high efficiency of light detection, and may be used in a wide field of applications, which employ the detection of very weak and fast optical signals, such as industrial and medical tomography, life science, nuclear, particle, and/or astroparticle physics etc. A highly efficient CMOS-technology compatible Silicon Photoelectric Multiplier may comprise a substrate and a buried layer applied within the substrate. The multiplier may comprise cells with silicon strip-like quenching resistors, made by CMOS-technology, located on top of the substrate and under an insulating layer for respective cells, and separating elements may be disposed between the cells.

Abstract: In an optical assembly having a light source which provides two optically different light components with essentially planar wavefronts on an optical axis, wherein the light components differ at least in their wavelength; in the case of an objective lens which projects the two optically different light components into a projection space; and in the case of an optical component which is arranged on the optical axis and has an plane through which the wavefronts of the two light components pass and in which at least two different areas of the optical component with different dispersion behaviors n(?) abut against one another in the lateral direction with respect to the optical axis; the optical component causes phase shifts of the wavefronts of the two light components, wherein the phase shift of the wavefronts of the one light component differs by at least one quarter of the wavelength of that light component between the two different areas, and wherein the phase shift of the wavefronts of the other light compo

Abstract: A method for compressing a digital image includes selecting an image patch of the digital image; assigning the selected image patch to a specific class (z); transforming the image patch, with a pre-determined class-specific transformation function; and quantizing the transformed image patch, wherein parameters of the classifier have been learned from a set of training image patches.

Abstract: A method of preparing a multi-channel coil, in particular for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or for a medical treatment device, wherein the multi-channel coil comprises at least two coil rows being axially arranged along a longitudinal direction (z), wherein each of the at least two coil rows comprises a plurality of coil elements being azimuthally distributed relative to the longitudinal direction (z), comprises the steps of a) electro-magnetic decoupling of the coil rows relative to each other, and b) minimizing a reflected power (Pref—row) individually of each of the coil rows. Furthermore, a method of operating a multi-channel coil, in particular for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or for a medical treatment device, and a multi-channel coil, which is prepared using to the above method are described.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a Drosophila in vitro system which was used to demonstrate that dsRNA is processed to RNA segments 21-23 nucleotides (nt) in length. Furthermore, when these 21-23 nt fragments are purified and added back to Drosophila extracts, they mediate RNA interference in the absence of long dsRNA. Thus, these 21-23 nt fragments are the sequence-specific mediators of RNA degradation. A molecular signal, which may be their specific length, must be present in these 21-23 nt fragments to recruit cellular factors involved in RNAi. This present invention encompasses these 21-23 nt fragments and their use for specifically inactivating gene function. The use of these fragments (or chemically synthesized oligonucleotides of the same or similar nature) enables the targeting of specific mRNAs for degradation in mammalian cells, where the use of long dsRNAs to elicit RNAi is usually not practical, presumably because of the deleterious effects of the interferon response.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method that allows comprehensive quantitation of one or a plurality biomolecules, including the entire complement of biomolecules in a sample by comparing their quantity to the quantity of reference biomolecules in a standard mixture obtained via extraction from at least two different cell populations. The invention further relates to said standard mixture itself, its preparation and use.

Abstract: A method for deactivating preferably odour-relevant molecules that is distinguished by the following steps is proposed: generating a plasma; deactivating preferably odour-relevant molecules by the effect of hot electrons of the plasma on the molecules to be deactivated.

Abstract: The present invention relates to novel fluorinated 3,6-diaminoxanthene compounds derived from the basic structural formula (I) and to their uses as photostable fluorescent dyes, e.g. for immunostainings and spectroscopic and microscopic applications, in particular in conventional microscopy, stimulated emission depletion (STED) reversible saturable optically linear fluorescent transitions (RESOLFT) microscopy, and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. The claimed compounds are also useful as molecular probes in various spectroscopic applications.

Abstract: In a method for imaging a structure (33) marked with a fluorescent dye in a sample, the sample is repeatedly scanned in a scanning range (28) with a light intensity distribution localised around a focal point (29) of a focused fluorescence excitation light beam. The light intensity distribution further comprises a focused fluorescence inhibiting light beam (7) whose wave fronts are modulated so that a fluorescence inhibiting light intensity distribution comprises a minimum at the focal point (29) of the fluorescence excitation light beam (4). The scanning conditions are coordinated in such a way that the fluorescence light is emitted out of the scanning range (28) as individually detectable photons. When these photons are detected, the location (32) of the focal point (28) at the respective point in time is allocated to them. An image of the structure (33) is composed of the locations (32) to which the detected photons have been allocated during several repetitions of scanning the scanning range (28).

Abstract: The present invention relates to the use of a modulator of a polypeptide having or comprising an amino acid sequence as disclosed herein or of a functional fragment or derivative thereof or of a polynucleotide encoding said polypeptide or fragment or derivative for the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition for preventing, alleviating or treating diseases or conditions associated with the degeneration or injury of vertebrate nervous tissue, associated with seizures or associated with angiogenic disorders or disorders of the cardio-vascular system.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method of determining the absolute amount of a target polypeptide in a sample, said method comprising the following steps: (a) adding (aa) a fusion polypeptide to said sample, said fusion polypeptide comprising (i) at least one tag sequence and (ii) a subsequence of the target polypeptide; and (ab) a known absolute amount of a tag polypeptide comprising or consisting of said tag sequence according to (aa) to said sample, wherein said fusion polypeptide on the one hand is mass-altered as compared to said target polypeptide and said tag polypeptide on the other hand, for example, said fusion polypeptide on the one hand and said target polypeptide and said tag polypeptide on the other hand are differently isotope labeled; (b) performing proteolytic digestion of the mixture obtained in step (a); (c) subjecting the result of proteolytic digestion of step (b), optionally after chromatography, to mass spectrometric analysis; and (d) determining the absolute amount of said target poly

Abstract: The present technology relates to a computer-implemented method for tracking an object in a sequence of multi-view input video images comprising the steps of acquiring a model of the object, tracking the object in the multi-view input video image sequence, and using the model.

Abstract: Described are synthetic promoters capable of mediating gene expression in plants upon pathogen infection. Furthermore, recombinant genes and vectors comprising said chimeric promoters as well as host cells transformed with such chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, or vectors are provided. Additionally, diagnostic compositions and kits comprising such chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, vectors or cells are described. Provided are further methods for the identification of compounds being capable of activating or inhibiting genes that are specifically expressed in plants upon pathogen infection employing the above described means. Furthermore, transgenic plant cells, plant tissue, and plants containing the above-described chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, and vectors as well as the use of the aforementioned chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, vectors and/or compounds identified by the method of the invention in plant cell and tissue culture, plant breeding, and/or agriculture are described.

Abstract: A method of magnetic resonance imaging of an object comprises the steps of arranging the object in a stationary magnetic field, subjecting the object to an excitation and encoding sequence of magnetic field gradients resulting in k-space sampling in two segments along the phase encoding direction, wherein the encoding sequence of the magnetic field gradients is selected such that the two segments in k-space are sampled along trajectories beginning with a central k-space line through the k-space center and continuing to opposite k-space borders of the two segments, collecting magnetic resonance signals created in the object, and reconstructing an image of the object based on the magnetic resonance signals, wherein one central k-space line is sampled in both of the two k-space segments, and intersegment phase and/or intensity deviations are corrected in both k-space segments using the magnetic resonance signals collected along the central k-space line.

Abstract: Recombinant soluble Fc receptors according to the present invention are characterized by the absence of transmembrane domains, signal peptides and glycoslyation. Such Fc receptors can easily be obtained by expressing respective nucleic acids in prokaryotic host ells and renaturation of the obtained inclusion bodies, which procedure leads to a very homogenous and pure product. The products can be used for diagnostic as well as pharmaceutical applications and also for the generation of crystal structure data. Such crystal structure data can be used for the modeling of artificial molecules. A further embodiment comprises coupling the Fc receptors according to the invention to solid materials like chromatography materials that an be used to separate and/or enrich antibodies.

Abstract: For the purpose of tracking a movement of a particle in a sample, the particle is driven by light to emit photons, and the photons emitted by the particle are detected. The light applied to the sample features a light intensity distribution with a spatially limited minimum. The particle is tracked with the minimum of the light intensity distribution by moving the light intensity distribution with respect to the sample such that a rate of photons emitted by the particle remains minimal, and by taking an actual position of the minimum of the light intensity distribution in the sample as an actual position of the particle in the sample.

Abstract: Described are synthetic promoters capable of mediating gene expression in plants upon pathogen infection. Furthermore, recombinant genes and vectors comprising said chimeric promoters as well as host cells transformed with such chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, or vectors are provided. Additionally, diagnostic compositions and kits comprising such chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, vectors or cells are described. Provided are further methods for the identification of compounds being capable of activating or inhibiting genes that are specifically expressed in plants upon pathogen infection employing the above described means. Furthermore, transgenic plant cells, plant tissue, and plants containing the above-described chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, and vectors as well as the use of the aforementioned chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, vectors and/or compounds identified by the method of the invention in plant cell and tissue culture, plant breeding, and/or agriculture are described.

Abstract: A method of collecting magnetic resonance data for imaging an object with a predetermined spin density being arranged in a static magnetic field, comprises the steps subjecting said object to at least one radiofrequency pulse and magnetic field gradients for creating spatially encoded magnetic resonance signals, including at least two settings of spatially encoding phase-contrast gradients differently encoding the phase of said magnetic resonance signals in at least one field of view in a predetermined spatial dimension, acquiring at least two magnetic resonance signals, each with one of said at least two settings of different spatially encoding phase-contrast gradients, and determining at least one mean spin density position of said object along said spatial dimension by calculating the phase difference between said signals. Furthermore, a control device and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device implementing the method are described.

Abstract: Described are synthetic promoters capable of mediating gene expression in plants upon pathogen infection. Furthermore, recombinant genes and vectors comprising said chimeric promoters as well as host cells transformed with such chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, or vectors are provided. Additionally, diagnostic compositions and kits comprising such chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, vectors or cells are described. Provided are further methods for the identification of compounds being capable of activating or inhibiting genes that are specifically expressed in plants upon pathogen infection employing the above described means. Furthermore, transgenic plant cells, plant tissue, and plants containing the above-described chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, and vectors as well as the use of the aforementioned chimeric promoters, recombinant genes, vectors and/or compounds identified by the method of the invention in plant cell and tissue culture, plant breeding, and/or agriculture are described.