Available for licensing and commercial development is a multilayered radio-frequency (RF) coil system for improving the transmit B1 field homogeneity for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at high field strengths. The current invention aims at manipulating the inhomogeneous profile of the transmit B1 field, which causes MR images to become less uniform as the magnetic field strength is increased, by utilizing an inner array of RF elements (e.g. surface coils) within and coupled to an outer transmit unit (e.g. a birdcage coil or other volume coil).

The tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) complex is a group of viruses that can cause severe neutrotropic disease and up to thirty percent (30%) mortality. While these viruses can be found in many parts of the world, the largest impact of the disease occurs in Europe and Russia, where approximately fourteen thousand (14,000) hospitalized TBEV cases occur annually. TBEV is in the family Flaviviridae, genus flavivirus and is composed of a positive-sense single stranded RNA genome that contains 5' and 3' non-coding regions and a single open reading frame encoding ten (10) proteins.

Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax and is surrounded by a polypeptide capsule of poly-gamma-D-glutamic acid (gammaDPGA). gammaDPGA is poorly immunogenic and has antiphagocytic properties. The bacterial capsule is essential for virulence. Antibodies to the capsule have been shown to enhance phagocytosis and killing of encapsulated bacilli. These antibodies in combination with antibodies that neutralize the toxins of B. anthracis could provide enhanced protection by their dual antibacterial and antitoxic activities.

The zinc finger protein ZFP36L2 has been shown by the inventors to play an essential role in hematopoiesis, a process that is dysregulated in hematological cancers, anemia, and other conditions. Thus, ZFP36L2 has promise for use in a diagnostic test to detect abnormal hematopoiesis, or as a target for the development of therapeutics to treat abnormal hematopoiesis.

The retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma (RORgamma) is a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily. NIH investigators used homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells to generate mice in which the RORgamma gene was disrupted. RORgamma deficient mice lack peripheral and mesenteric lymph nodes and Peyer's patches indicating that ROR expression is indispensable for lymph node organogenesis. In addition, RORgamma is required for the generation of Th17 cells which play a critical role in autoimmune disease.

The technology offered for licensing and for further development concerns a novel device for intervallic collection of expired gas from subjects and subsequent measurement of the isotopic content of such expired gases. The device is specifically designed for medical research and clinical applications, and in particular in the area of metabolic disorders. The device may facilitate the development and testing of new therapies for such disorders and may be used for medical screening and diagnostics of metabolic diseases.

The invention offered for licensing is in the field of use of vaccines for malaria. The invention provides gene sequences encoding an erythrocyte binding protein of a malaria pathogen for the expression of the erythrocyte binding protein. The codon composition of the synthetic gene sequences approximates the mammalian codon composition. The synthetic gene sequences are useful for incorporation into DNA vaccine vectors, for the incorporation into various expression vectors for production of malaria proteins, or both.

Cryopreservation using liquid nitrogen frozen polyvinyl bags allows for storing cellular materials for extended periods while maintaining their activity and viability. Such bags are commonly used in the clinic to store blood products including blood cells, plasma, hematopoietic stem cells, umbilical cord blood for future uses including transplantation. These materials, typically obtained in limited quantities, may be of great therapeutic value, as is the case of stem cells or cord blood derived cells which can be used to potentially treat a number of diseases.

The technology offered for licensing and for further development is in the field of multiphoton microscopy (MPM). More specifically, the invention pertains to optical designs that can enhance and extend the capabilities of MPM in spectral imaging of biological samples. The unique design of the light collection and the detection optics maximizes the collection of emitted light, thus increasing the signal and hence the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

The invention offered for licensing relates to the field of imaging and specifically to the field of medical imaging. The apparatus and method of the invention provide for noise reduction in imaging applications that use a time-series of images. In one embodiment of the invention, a time-series of images is acquired using a same imaging protocol of the same subject area, but the images are spaced in time by one or more time intervals (e.g. 1, 2, 3 …seconds apart).