Institutions of Hanseatic Trade

The merchants of the medieval Hanse monopolised trade in the Baltic and North Sea areas. The authors describe the structure of their trade system in terms of network organisation and attempts to explain, on the grounds of institutional economics, the coordination of the merchants’ commercial exchange by reputation, trust and culture. The institutional economics approach also allows for a comprehensive analysis of coordination problems arising between merchants, towns and the ‘Kontore’. Due to the simplicity and flexibility of network trade the Hansards could bridge the huge gap in economic development between the West and the East. In the changing economic conditions around 1500, however, exactly these characteristics proved to be a serious limit to further retain their trade monopoly

Influence of Physicochemical Characteristics and Stability of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles on Biological Effects and Translocation across an Intestinal Barrier—A Case Study from In Vitro to In Silico

A better understanding of their interaction with cell-based tissue is a fundamental prerequisite towards the safe production and application of engineered nanomaterials. Quantitative experimental data on the correlation between physicochemical characteristics and the interaction and transport of engineered nanomaterials across biological barriers, in particular, is still scarce, thus hampering the development of effective predictive non-testing strategies. Against this background, the presented study investigated the translocation of gold and silver nanoparticles across the gastrointestinal barrier along with related biological effects using an in vitro 3D-triple co-culture cell model. Standardized in vitro assays and quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed no significant influence of the applied nanoparticles on both cell viability and generation of reactive oxygen species. Transmission electron microscopy indicated an intact cell barrier during the translocation study. Single particle ICP-MS revealed a time-dependent increase of translocated nanoparticles independent of their size, shape, surface charge, and stability in cell culture medium. This quantitative data provided the experimental basis for the successful mathematical description of the nanoparticle transport kinetics using a non-linear mixed effects modeling approach. The results of this study may serve as a basis for the development of predictive tools for improved risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials in the future

Limited life cycle and cost assessment for the bioconversion of lignin-derived aromatics into adipic acid

Lignin is an abundant and heterogeneous waste byproduct of the cellulosic industry, which has the potential of being transformed into valuable biochemicals via microbial fermentation. In this study, we applied a fast-pyrolysis process using softwood lignin resulting in a two-phase bio-oil containing monomeric and oligomeric aromatics without syringol. We demonstrated that an additional hydrodeoxygenation step within the process leads to an enhanced thermochemical conversion of guaiacol into catechol and phenol. After steam bath distillation, Pseudomonas putida KT2440-BN6 achieved a percent yield of cis, cis-muconic acid of up to 95 mol% from catechol derived from the aqueous phase. We next established a downstream process for purifying cis, cis-muconic acid (39.9 g/L) produced in a 42.5 L fermenter using glucose and benzoate as carbon substrates. On the basis of the obtained values for each unit operation of the empirical processes, we next performed a limited life cycle and cost analysis of an integrated biotechnological and chemical process for producing adipic acid and then compared it with the conventional petrochemical route. The simulated scenarios estimate that by attaining a mixture of catechol, phenol, cresol, and guaiacol (1:0.34:0.18:0, mol ratio), a titer of 62.5 (g/L) cis, cis-muconic acid in the bioreactor, and a controlled cooling of pyrolysis gases to concentrate monomeric aromatics in the aqueous phase, the bio-based route results in a reduction of CO2 -eq emission by 58% and energy demand by 23% with a contribution margin for the aqueous phase of up to 88.05 euro/ton. We conclude that the bio-based production of adipic acid from softwood lignins brings environmental benefits over the petrochemical procedure and is cost-effective at an industrial scale. Further research is essential to achieve the proposed cis, cis-muconic acid yield from true lignin-derived aromatics using whole-cell biocatalysts

SciJava Ops: An Improved Algorithms Framework for Fiji and Beyond

Many scientific software platforms provide plugin mechanisms that simplify the integration, deployment, and execution of externally developed functionality. One of the most widely used platforms in the imaging space is Fiji, a popular open-source application for scientific image analysis. Fiji incorporates and builds on the ImageJ and ImageJ2 platforms, which provide a powerful plugin architecture used by thousands of plugins to solve a wide variety of problems. This capability is a major part of Fiji's success, and it has become a widely used biological image analysis tool and a target for new functionality. However, a plugin-based software architecture cannot unify disparate platforms operating on incompatible data structures; interoperability necessitates the creation of adaptation or "bridge" layers to translate data and invoke functionality. As a result, while platforms like Fiji enable a high degree of interconnectivity and extensibility, they were not fundamentally designed to integrate across the many data types, programming languages, and architectural differences of various software platforms.To help address this challenge, we present SciJava Ops, a foundational software library for expressing algorithms as plugins in a unified and extensible way. Continuing the evolution of Fiji's SciJava plugin mechanism, SciJava Ops enables users to harness algorithms from various software platforms within a central execution environment. In addition, SciJava Ops automatically adapts data into the most appropriate structure for each algorithm, allowing users to freely and transparently combine algorithms from otherwise incompatible tools. While SciJava Ops is initially distributed as a Fiji update site, the framework does not require Fiji, ImageJ, or ImageJ2, and would be suitable for integration with additional image analysis platforms.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figure

On the reproducibility of extrusion-based bioprinting: round robin study on standardization in the field

The outcome of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting heavily depends, amongst others, on the interaction between the developed bioink, the printing process, and the printing equipment. However, if this interplay is ensured, bioprinting promises unmatched possibilities in the health care area. To pave the way for comparing newly developed biomaterials, clinical studies, and medical applications (i.e. printed organs, patient-specific tissues), there is a great need for standardization of manufacturing methods in order to enable technology transfers. Despite the importance of such standardization, there is currently a tremendous lack of empirical data that examines the reproducibility and robustness of production in more than one location at a time. In this work, we present data derived from a round robin test for extrusion-based 3D printing performance comprising 12 different academic laboratories throughout Germany and analyze the respective prints using automated image analysis (IA) in three independent academic groups. The fabrication of objects from polymer solutions was standardized as much as currently possible to allow studying the comparability of results from different laboratories. This study has led to the conclusion that current standardization conditions still leave room for the intervention of operators due to missing automation of the equipment. This affects significantly the reproducibility and comparability of bioprinting experiments in multiple laboratories. Nevertheless, automated IA proved to be a suitable methodology for quality assurance as three independently developed workflows achieved similar results. Moreover, the extracted data describing geometric features showed how the function of printers affects the quality of the printed object. A significant step toward standardization of the process was made as an infrastructure for distribution of material and methods, as well as for data transfer and storage was successfully established

On the reproducibility of extrusion-based bioprinting: round robin study on standardization in the field

The outcome of three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting heavily depends, amongst others, on the interaction between the developed bioink, the printing process, and the printing equipment. However, if this interplay is ensured, bioprinting promises unmatched possibilities in the health care area. To pave the way for comparing newly developed biomaterials, clinical studies, and medical applications (i.e. printed organs, patient-specific tissues), there is a great need for standardization of manufacturing methods in order to enable technology transfers. Despite the importance of such standardization, there is currently a tremendous lack of empirical data that examines the reproducibility and robustness of production in more than one location at a time. In this work, we present data derived from a round robin test for extrusion-based 3D printing performance comprising 12 different academic laboratories throughout Germany and analyze the respective prints using automated image analysis (IA) in three independent academic groups. The fabrication of objects from polymer solutions was standardized as much as currently possible to allow studying the comparability of results from different laboratories. This study has led to the conclusion that current standardization conditions still leave room for the intervention of operators due to missing automation of the equipment. This affects significantly the reproducibility and comparability of bioprinting experiments in multiple laboratories. Nevertheless, automated IA proved to be a suitable methodology for quality assurance as three independently developed workflows achieved similar results. Moreover, the extracted data describing geometric features showed how the function of printers affects the quality of the printed object. A significant step toward standardization of the process was made as an infrastructure for distribution of material and methods, as well as for data transfer and storage was successfully established

Quantification of pancreatic cancer proteome and phosphorylome: Indicates molecular events likely contributing to cancer and activity of drug targets

Objective: LC-MS/MS phospho-proteomics is an essential technology to help unravel the complex molecular events that lead to and propagate cancer. We have developed a global phospho-proteomic workflow to determine activity of signaling pathways and drug targets in pancreatic cancer tissue for clinical application. Methods: Peptides resulting from tryptic digestion of proteins extracted from frozen tissue of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and background pancreas (n = 12), were labelled with tandem mass tags (TMT 8-plex), separated by strong cation exchange chromatography, then were analysed by LC-MS/MS directly or first enriched for phosphopeptides using IMAC and TiO2, prior to analysis. In-house, commercial and freeware bioinformatic platforms were used to identify relevant biological events from the complex dataset. Results: Of 2,101 proteins identified, 152 demonstrated significant difference in abundance between tumor and non-tumor tissue. They included proteins that are known to be up-regulated in pancreatic cancer (e.g. Mucin-1), but the majority were new candidate markers such as HIPK1 & MLCK. Of the 6,543 unique phosphopeptides identified (6,284 unique phosphorylation sites), 635 showed significant regulation, particularly those from proteins involved in cell migration (Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factors & MRCKα) and formation of focal adhesions. Activator phosphorylation sites on FYN, AKT1, ERK2, HDAC1 and other drug targets were found to be highly modulated (≥2 fold) in different cases highlighting their predictive power. Conclusion: Here we provided critical information enabling us to identify the common and unique molecular events likely contributing to cancer in each case. Such information may be used to help predict more bespoke therapy suitable for an individual case

Non-mammalian model systems for studying neuro-immune interactions after spinal cord injury

Mammals exhibit poor recovery after injury to the spinal cord, where the loss of neurons and neuronal connections can be functionally devastating. In contrast, it has long been appreciated that many non-mammalian vertebrate species exhibit significant spontaneous functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). Identifying the biological responses that support an organism\u27s inability or ability to recover function after SCI is an important scientific and medical question. While recent advances have been made in understanding the responses to SCI in mammals, we remain without an effective clinical therapy for SCI. A comparative biological approach to understanding responses to SCI in non-mammalian vertebrates will yield important insights into mechanisms that promote recovery after SCI. Presently, mechanistic studies aimed at elucidating responses, both intrinsic and extrinsic to neurons, that result in different regenerative capacities after SCI across vertebrates are just in their early stages. There are several inhibitory mechanisms proposed to impede recovery from SCI in mammals, including reactive gliosis and scarring, myelin associated proteins, and a suboptimal immune response. One hypothesis to explain the robust regenerative capacity of several non-mammalian vertebrates is a lack of some or all of these inhibitory signals. This review presents the current knowledge of immune responses to SCI in several non-mammalian species that achieve anatomical and functional recovery after SCI. This subject is of growing interest, as studies increasingly show both beneficial and detrimental roles of the immune response following SCI in mammals. A long-term goal of biomedical research in all experimental models of SCI is to understand how to promote functional recovery after SCI in humans. Therefore, understanding immune responses to SCI in non-mammalian vertebrates that achieve functional recovery spontaneously may identify novel strategies to modulate immune responses in less regenerative species and promote recovery after SCI