The present invention relates to a screening method for materials that suppress the characteristic body odor of elderly people. The screening method of the present invention is designed such that test substances are screened with olfactory receptors responsive to substances responsible for the characteristic body odor of elderly people to select candidate substances for materials that suppress the characteristic body odor of elderly people, and this method comprises adding a test substance and a substance responsible for the characteristic body odor of elderly people to at least one olfactory receptor polypeptide selected from the group consisting of (a) OR2C1, OR2J2, OR4E2 and OR5P3, and (b) polypeptides which comprise an amino acid sequence sharing an identity of at least 80% with the amino acid sequence of any of the polypeptides in (a) and which are responsive to the substance responsible for the characteristic body odor of elderly people; measuring the response of the olfactory receptor polypeptide to the substance responsible for the characteristic body odor of elderly people; and identifying a test substance that suppresses the response of the olfactory receptor polypeptide on the basis of the measured response. Moreover, the present invention relates to a screening method for trans-2-nonenal odor suppressors and a screening method for trans-2-octenal odor suppressors.

The disclosure provides a method for analyzing compounds extracted from Cannabis. The method comprises extracting cannabinoids or terpenes from a sample using a C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alcohol or C.sub.5-C.sub.8 solvent as an extraction solvent to produce a supernatant, drying the supernatant to produce a dried extract, and dissolving the dried extract in a second C.sub.1-C.sub.4 alcohol or C.sub.5-C.sub.8 solvent, separating the cannabinoids or terpenes by gas chromatography using a capillary column with hydrogen as a carrier gas; and detecting the cannabinoids or terpenes using a mass spectrometer. The disclosure also provides a method of determining an effect of one or more Cannabis-derived compounds on intracellular calcium concentration in a cell using a microfluidic device.

The present invention is directed to methods and compositions for treating Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The risk of developing therapy resistant GBM may be assessed by detecting the presence of ABCB5 in the GBM cells. Therapeutic interventions utilizing an ABCB5 blockade to sensitize the GBM cells to therapeutic agents such as temozolomide are provided.

A method of identifying a potential therapeutic compound that affects a Receptor Tyrosine Kinase (RTK) pathway in cancer cells, which includes: providing a device capable of measuring cell-substrate impedance; culturing cancer cells in serum-free media in at least two wells of the device; adding to a first well a proposed therapeutic compound that affects a RTK pathway and a RTK stimulating factor for the RTK pathway to form a test well, and adding to another well the RTK stimulating factor to form a control well; continuously monitoring cell-substrate impedance of the at least two wells and optionally determining cell indices from the monitored cell-substrate impedance; and determining a difference in impedance or optionally cell index between the test well and control well; and if significantly different, concluding the proposed therapeutic compound is therapeutically active in the RTK pathway within the cancer cells.

The invention relates to mutant NQ-Rhodopsin having potassium pumping properties, nucleic acid constructs encoding same, expression vectors carrying the nucleic acid construct, cells comprising said nucleic acid construct or expression vector, and their respective uses.

Methods and compositions related to the selective, specific disruption of multiple ligand-receptor signaling interactions, such as ligand-receptor interactions implicated in disease, are disclosed. These interactions may involve multiple cytokines in a single receptor family or multiple ligand receptor interactions from at least two distinct ligand-receptor families. The compositions may comprise polypeptides having composite sequences that comprise sequence fragments of two or more ligand binding sites. The methods and compositions may involve sequence fragments of two or more ligand binding sites that are arranged to conserve the secondary structure of each of the ligands from which the sequence fragments were taken.

Described systems and methods allow the detection and quantitation of a target analyte such as a toxin, drug, pesticide, etc. Some embodiments use a sensor comprising photo-sensitive cells, e.g., cells genetically modified to express an opsin. A light source such as an LED is used to optically stimulate the sensor cells, triggering changes in a measurable quantity such as the polarization of the cell membrane. Some embodiments use electrical impedance measurements to monitor the cell's recovery from the state induced by the optical stimulation. The recovery process is affected by the presence of certain bio-active compounds, which allows detection and quantitation of such compounds.

The invention is based on a method of modulating the activation or inhibition of Mixed lineage kinase domain-like (MLKL) protein, or a MLKL variant protein, via modulating the intramolecular interaction between the C-terminal helix (Hc) of the psK domain and a hydrophobic groove in the MLKL protein. The invention provides methods and compounds for to selectively target the herein firstly disclosed intramolecular interaction of MLKL protein. Based on the herein disclosed essential intramolecular rearrangement of MLKL, the invention provides small molecules capable of specifically inhibiting mouse or human MLKL. The invention provides uses, including medical applications such as treatments, of MLKL driven conditions including necroptosis, cell trafficking, pathological immune responses and/or inflammation.

The present disclosure relates generally to methods and materials for the identification of compounds that modulate (e.g., enhance, agonize, or antagonize) G protein-coupled receptor (GPCRs), such as those involved in taste. Examples of such GPCR include the TAS1R proteins and the TAS2R proteins that are involved in sensing sweet taste. In certain aspects, the disclosure provides cell-based and label-free assays that use highly sensitive biosensors to detect candidate taste modulator compounds by their alteration of GPCR activity. In some embodiments, such cell-based and label-free assays may be used to detect changes in cell mass distribution, cell adhesion, or cell morphology, resulting from contact with a candidate taste modulator compound. In some embodiments, such assays detect GPCR activation with greatly improved sensitivity compared to conventional assay methods.

The present invention relates to a screening method for determining whether or not a candidate compound is a modulator of a complex consisting of the insect transient receptor potential channel Nanchung protein and the insect transient receptor potential channel Water witch protein. The present invention further relates to a screening method for determining whether or not a candidate compound directly binds to the complex consisting of the Nanchung protein and Water witch protein. The present invention further relates to a screening method for determining whether or not a candidate compound is a modulator of the insect Water witch protein. The present invention further provides a method of insect control by applying an insect-specific TRP channel modulator determined by the screening method. The present invention further provides a method of classifying an insecticide compound by its mode of action using the binding assay and/or a functional assay.