Methods for determination of risk, previous history and/or presence of a betaretrovirus infection in a subject are described herein. Said methods may comprise incubating a biological sample from the subject, the biological sample comprising immune effector-producing cells, with one or more betaretrovirus-specific epitopes, the betaretrovirus-specific epitopes comprising at least 7 contiguous amino acids according to any one of SEQ ID Nos. 1-36, and measuring the production of immune effectors by the immune effector-producing cells, wherein production of the immune effectors by the immune effector-producing cells determines risk and/or presence of betaretrovirus infection in the subject. Isolated peptides and kits for carrying out the methods are also described.

The present invention provides, among other things, methods, reagents, and systems for the treatment, detection, analysis, and/or characterization of influenza infections.

This invention relates to a system and methods including their manufacturing technologies for enhanced sensing capability of one or more bioagents covering from HIV, Pathogens, virus, to cells detection. More particularly, this invention is related to HIV and pathogen diagnosis system and methods which may increase its sensitivity and may reduce the diagnosis time. Furthermore, the diagnosis system and method may be applicable to all early stage patients with various age groups, where early and accuracy in diagnosis, are required.

The present invention relates to the field of veterinary diagnostics, specifically to a test for the detection of antibodies against CSFV. In particular the invention relates to a method for detecting antibodies against wild type CSFV in a test sample, characterized in that the method comprises co-incubating with a carrier comprising a mutated TAVSPTTLR epitope of CSFV E2 protein. Further, the invention relates to a diagnostic test kit, and to the use of the method according to the invention. In addition the invention relates to a method for differentiating between animals infected with wild type CSFV and animals that were vaccinated against CSFV with a CSFV (marker) vaccine, and to a method for controlling an infection with wild type CSFV in a population of porcine animals, by the combined use of a CSFV (marker) vaccine and the diagnostic test kit of the invention.

The invention relates to antibodies and binding fragments thereof that are capable of binding to influenza A virus hemagglutinin and neutralizing at least one group 1 subtype and at least 1 group 2 subtype of influenza A virus.

The invention relates to polynucleotide agents targeting programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) gene, and methods of using such polynucleotide agents to inhibit expression of PD-L1 and to treat subjects having a PD-L1-associated disorder.

A method of analyzing biological data containing expression values of a plurality of polypeptides in the blood of a subject. The method comprises: calculating a distance between a segment of a curved line and an axis defined by a direction, the distance being calculated at a point over the curved line defined by a coordinate along the direction. The method further comprises correlating the distance to the presence of, absence of, or likelihood that the subject has, a bacterial infection. The coordinate is defined by a combination of the expression values, wherein at least 90% of the segment is between a lower bound line and an upper bound line.

The present invention provides a method for enhancing immune cell function by activating various immune cells ex vivo and provides immune cells with enhanced function. The invention further provides an immune-related cell multifunctionality evaluation method. A biguanide antidiabetic drug selected from metformin, phenformin, and buformin is capable of enhancing immune cell multifunctionality by increasing CD8+T cells having a high ability to produce IL-2, INFα, and IFNγ. The immune-related cell multifunctionality may be evaluated by comparing immune cells treated with a biguanide antidiabetic drug selected from metformin, phenformin, and buformin, with control immune cells untreated with the biguanide antidiabetic drug. When the multifunctionality of immune cells treated with the biguanide antidiabetic drug selected from metformin, phenformin, and buformin is determined to be significantly increased compared with the control, it can be evaluated that the sensitivity of the immune cells to the therapeutic agent is improved.

Rapid, point of care semi-quantitative tests for viral or bacterial antibody titer, and methods and kits for carrying out the same. The test article comprises a first elongated solid support with a sample application region and a detection region. The detection region comprises immobilized antigen that specifically binds a minimum immunoprotective level of antibody to at least one pathogen of interest. Depending upon the test results, the assay can rapidly indicate whether the animal has the presumptive minimally-protective level of antibody to the target pathogen, or needs to be re-vaccinated.

Antibiotics (Abx) are the world's most misused drugs. Antibiotics misuse occurs when the drug is administered in case of a non-bacterial infection (such as a viral infection) for which it is ineffective. Overall, it is estimated that 40-70% of the worldwide Abx courses are mis-prescribed. The financial and health consequences of Abx over-prescription include the direct cost of the drugs, as well as the indirect costs of their side effects, which are estimated at >$15 billion annually. Furthermore, over-prescription directly causes the emergence of Abx-resistant strains of bacteria, which are recognized as one of the major threats to public health today. This generates an immediate need for reliable diagnostics to assist physicians in correct Abx prescription, especially at the point-of-care (POC) where most Abx are prescribed. Accordingly, some aspects of the present invention provide methods using biomarkers for rapidly detecting the source of infection and administrating the appropriate treatment.