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mRNA vaccines were highly effective in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, making them an attractive platform to address cancers and other infectious diseases. Many new mRNA vaccines in development are multivalent, which represents a difficulty for the standard assays commonly used to characterize the critical quality attributes of monovalent formulations. Here, we present a multiplexed analytical tool with nucleic acid microarray technology using the VaxArray platform that measures the identity and quantity of mono- and multivalent mixtures of naked mRNA and mRNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticle formulations in under 2 h without any additional preparation steps, such as extraction or RT-PCR. Using a quadrivalent mixture of encapsulated mRNA constructs that encode for four unique proteins in a vaccine formulation, the VaxArray mRNA assay was demonstrated to be highly specific for each mRNA with sensitivity < 1 µg/mL. The quantification of individual mRNAs within the lipid nanoparticle mixture resulted in a precision of ≤10% RSD and an accuracy of 100 ± 9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citrus production in Colombia is divided into six productive centers, with a total production of 1,450 thousand tons in 2021. The greater entrepreneurial activity stands out in the West and a lower level in the South, which generates 230 thousand tons per year of citrus waste, posing challenges in terms of pollution and wet/semi-solid waste management. This study evaluates the industrial potential of these waste products for strengthening the national citrus industry, considering three aspects: raw materials availability, technological opportunities, and market opportunities. The results indicate that Colombia has a robust citrus production, with an emphasis on oranges, mandarins, and lemons, and significant potential in the industrialization of the peel, which constitutes between 40% and 60% of the total fruit. To industrialization were identified six key research areas of citrus waste in terms of technological opportunities. Regarding market opportunities, there is observed growth both nationally and internationally in products derived from citrus waste, including essential oils, terpenes, dietary fiber, pectin, citric acid, and biofuels. Colombia is considered a country with great potential for the industrialization of citrus waste, supported by its abundant raw materials, promising technological opportunities, and a growing market. However, improvements in infrastructure, investment in research and development, and the promotion of entrepreneurial culture in the citrus sector are needed to fully capitalize on this opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present new chronologies that inform the timing and tempo of shell ring and shell mound construction on the South Atlantic Bight. Our project combines recently acquired dates with legacy radiocarbon dates from over 25 rings and mounds to provide a higher-resolution chronology regarding the occupation and formation of this larger landscape of the earliest fishing villages along the East Coast of the United States. We resolve the ordering and timing of occupation of these rings and mounds through Bayesian statistical modeling. These new models historicize and contextualize these shell rings in ways previously impossible. Specifically, our new chronologies of these villages indicate that the earliest villages were established prior to the invention of pottery. The early period of village establishment evidences isolated village rings, whereas later periods seem to have more villages, but these appear to have been relocated to other areas and/or islands over time. Shell mounds are fewer in number, are spread throughout the time period, and may represent special purpose sites compared to shell-rings. Once villages spread, they quickly adopted new technologies (i.e., pottery) and created new institutions and practiced village relocation, which allowed this way of life to persist for more than a thousand years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]