Compositions and methods for measuring C-peptide binding by cells, including cells expressing Glut1, using a C-peptide binding facilitator, such as an albumin. Such methods include incubating the cell with a known amount of C-peptide and a C-peptide binding facilitator, and determining the amount of C-peptide bound to the incubated cells. Also provided are methods for detecting, monitoring, and/or treating immune-mediated diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), using method of the present technology for measuring C-peptide binding by cells obtained from a human or other animal subject.

This disclosure provides methods, systems, and compositions of matter for studying solvent accessibility and three-dimensional structure of biological molecules. A plasma can be used to generate marker radicals, which can interact with a biological molecule and mark the solvent-accessible portions of the biological molecule.

The present invention relates to isolated protein sequences that correspond to cell binding peptides, fragments, neo-structures and/or neo-epitopes of a normally occurring serum protein present in human tissue, wherein the peptide, fragment, neo-structure and/or neo-epitope has an immunoregulatory activity and is the result of either an enhanced proteolytic activity and/or conformational changes in a tissue, or a malignant tumour. In the present patent application, a common structure of several of these peptides, fragments, neo-structures and/or neo-epitopes, having immunoregulatory activity by binding to receptors on immune cells, has been identified. The present invention further also relates to monoclonal and/or polyclonal antibodies directed to a cell binding fragment of a normally occurring serum protein present in human tissue, as described above.

The present invention is directed to therapeutic methods using IL-6 antagonists such as antibodies and fragments thereof having binding specificity for IL-6 to improve survivability or quality of life of a patient in need thereof. In preferred embodiments these patients will comprise those exhibiting (or at risk of developing) an elevated serum C-reactive protein level or a reduced serum albumin level prior to treatment. In another preferred embodiment, the patient's Glasgow Prognostic Score will be increased and survivability will preferably be improved.

The present invention provides a method, wherein the method classifies a subject as suffering from dry eye, the method consisting of: a. obtaining demographic data, consisting of the age and gender of the subject; b. obtaining a tear sample from the patient, and determining the level of human serum albumin; c. from the determined level of human serum albumin, assigning a score for the determined amount of human serum albumin; and d. from the assigned score, calculating a cutoff probability score, according to the following equation: wherein the subject has dry eye, if the calculated cutoff probability score is from 50% to 60%. $\frac{\exp \left(-0.6491-1.1142*\mathrm{Albumin}\right)}{1+\exp \left(-0.6491-1.1142*\mathrm{Albumin}\right)}$

A method for measuring radiation intensity includes measuring the radiation intensity received by the protein in a radiation field based on degree of protein degradation in the radiation field, wherein the degree of degradation is a ratio of the molecular weight of the protein before and after irradiation. The measuring method is simple in operation, small in number of steps, small in error, and capable of measuring radiation doses of various radiation fields or even mixed radiation fields. Use of a biological dosimeter for measuring the radiation intensity by the method in a neutron capture therapy system can not only assess radiation contamination in the irradiation chamber, but also evaluate the neutron dose.

Methods, devices, and reagents are described for performing assays for hemoglobin Ale, glycated albumin, and other glycated proteins. The methods involve a ratio determination between glycated protein and non-glycated protein. In some applications, the assay utilizes LOCI for signal generation. This invention is directed to assays and corresponding devices and reagents for detection of glycated protein, particularly including glycated hemoglobin. As is generally understood, such detection is useful in the management of blood glucose levels in diabetic patients and for monitoring the status of pre-diabetic individuals.

Fibronectin type III domains (FN3) that specifically bind to serum albumin, related polynucleotides capable of encoding serum albumin-specific FN3 domains, cells expressing the FN3 domains, as well as associated vectors, detectably labeled FN3 domains and FN3 domains fused to a heterologous moiety are useful in extending the half-life of molecules in diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

A method for determining an amount of functional albumin includes providing a test sample containing a defined amount of albumin of unknown binding capacity and a reference sample containing the same defined amount of albumin having a reference binding capacity, incubating the test and reference samples with a defined amount of at least one albumin-binding marker M under conditions that allow formation of complexes of the at least one albumin-binding marker M and albumin (M:A), removing the complexes, detecting a presence or an amount of unbound marker M in the samples after removal of the complex (M:A) through a first and a second test strips that allow for a determination of an amount of unbound marker M, and determining the amount of functional albumin based on the presence or the amount detected of marker M.

In one embodiment, the present invention is a method for diagnosing Dry Eye Syndrome by quantifying an amount of at least two markers in a tear sample collected from a subject, wherein the at least two markers are selected from the group consisting of: Human Serum Albumin (HSA), mucin, lactoferrin, and lysozyme. In some embodiments, the method is a multi-assay test.