The present invention concerns an assay, a method and a device for detecting the presence of an odorous compound on a surface comprising enclosing the surface in a compartment, which compartment comprises an odor capturing agent including a visual indicating agent, wherein the surface comprises an odorous compound derived from biofilm.

The present invention concerns an assay, a method and a device for detecting the presence of an odorous compound on a surface comprising enclosing the surface in a compartment, which compartment comprises an odor capturing agent including a visual indicating agent, wherein the surface comprises an odorous compound derived from biofilm.

The present invention is directed generally to eukaryotic cells comprising single-celled organisms that are introduced into the eukaryotic cell through human intervention and which transfer to daughter cells of the eukaryotic cell, and methods of introducing such single-celled organisms into eukaryotic cells. The invention provides single-celled organisms that introduce a phenotype to eukaryotic cells that is maintained in daughter cells. The invention additionally provides eukaryotic cells containing magnetic bacteria. The invention further provides eukaryotic cells engineered with single-celled organisms to allow for multimodal observation of the eukaryotic cells. Each imaging method (or modality) allows the visualization of different aspects of anatomy and physiology, and combining these allows the imager to learn more about the subject being imaged.

The present invention provides a method for culturing vascular smooth muscle cells, which includes culturing vascular smooth muscle cells in suspension in a medium composition comprising a structure capable of culturing cells or tissues by suspending them. In addition, the present invention provides a method for suppressing proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells, which includes culturing vascular smooth muscle cells in suspension in the medium composition. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for preserving vascular smooth muscle cells, which includes suspending vascular smooth muscle cells in the medium composition. The structure contains, for example, deacylated gellan gum.

The present invention provides a method for culturing vascular smooth muscle cells, which includes culturing vascular smooth muscle cells in suspension in a medium composition comprising a structure capable of culturing cells or tissues by suspending them. In addition, the present invention provides a method for suppressing proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells, which includes culturing vascular smooth muscle cells in suspension in the medium composition. Furthermore, the present invention provides a method for preserving vascular smooth muscle cells, which includes suspending vascular smooth muscle cells in the medium composition. The structure contains, for example, deacylated gellan gum.

A method of analysis using mass spectrometry and/or ion mobility spectrometry is disclosed comprising: (a) using a first device to generate smoke, aerosol or vapour from a target in vitro or ex vivo cell population; (b) mass analysing and/or ion mobility analysing said smoke, aerosol or vapour, or ions derived therefrom, in order to obtain spectrometric data; and (c) analysing said spectrometric data in order to identify and/or characterise said target cell population or one or more cells and/or compounds present in said target cell population.

Systems and methods are provided for microbial identification using cleavable tags. Control information is sent to a mass spectrometer to fragment one or more nucleic acid primers labeled with a first tag and monitor for an intensity of the first tag in a mass spectrometry (MS) method. An ion source provides a beam of ions from a polymerase chain reaction amplified sample that includes one or more nucleic acid primers labeled with the first tag. The first tag binds to one or more nucleic acid primers of a known microbe and is cleaved from the nucleic acid primers during the MS method. The mass spectrometer receives the beam of ions and is adapted to perform the MS method on the beam of ions. If the intensity of the first tag received from the mass spectrometer exceeds a threshold value, the known microbe is identified in the sample.

Systems and methods are provided for microbial identification using cleavable tags. Control information is sent to a mass spectrometer to fragment one or more nucleic acid primers labeled with a first tag and monitor for an intensity of the first tag in a mass spectrometry (MS) method. An ion source provides a beam of ions from a polymerase chain reaction amplified sample that includes one or more nucleic acid primers labeled with the first tag. The first tag binds to one or more nucleic acid primers of a known microbe and is cleaved from the nucleic acid primers during the MS method. The mass spectrometer receives the beam of ions and is adapted to perform the MS method on the beam of ions. If the intensity of the first tag received from the mass spectrometer exceeds a threshold value, the known microbe is identified in the sample.

Provided are a method for predicting a treatment response to cancer immunotherapy, the method comprising a step of evaluating, from feces isolated from a patient, the enrichment of a strain of the order TANB77 according to GTDB phylogenetic classification or taxa belonging to the order TANB77, and a step of predicting a treatment response of the patient to cancer immunotherapy on the basis of the enrichment of the order TANB77 or the taxa; a probiotics composition for improving a treatment response; a fecal microbiota transplantation composition; and a method for screening for candidate prebiotics by using same.

The present disclosure relates to diagnostic methods that are relevant to various cancers and which comprise BH3 profiling diagnostics for, among others, predication of an adverse patient response to a cancer treatment.