Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) 5 articles published in JoVE Chemistry A Two-Step Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography Method with Mass Spectrometric Detection for Identification of Tattoo Ink Ingredients and Counterfeit Products Ines Schreiver1, Christoph Hutzler1, Andreas Luch1 1Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) This method for two-step pyrolysis online coupled to gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection and data evaluation protocol can be used for multi-component analysis of tattoo inks and discrimination of counterfeit products. Cancer Research Morphology-Based Distinction Between Healthy and Pathological Cells Utilizing Fourier Transforms and Self-Organizing Maps Fabian L. Kriegel1,2, Ralf Köhler2, Jannike Bayat-Sarmadi2, Simon Bayerl3, Anja E. Hauser2,3, Raluca Niesner2, Andreas Luch*1, Zoltan Cseresnyes*4 1Department of Chemical and Product Safety, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 2Deutsches Rheuma-Forschungszentrum (DRFZ) Berlin, a Leibniz Institute, 3Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 4Applied Systems Biology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology Hans Knöll Institute Here, we provide a workflow that allows the identification of healthy and pathological cells based on their 3-dimensional shape. We describe the process of using 2D projection outlines based on the 3D surfaces to train a Self-Organizing Map that will provide objective clustering of the investigated cell populations. Behavior Systematic Assessment of Well-Being in Mice for Procedures Using General Anesthesia Katharina Hohlbaum1,2, Bettina Bert2,3, Silke Dietze2, Rupert Palme4, Heidrun Fink2, Christa Thöne-Reineke1 1Institute of Animal Welfare, Animal Behavior and Laboratory Animal Science, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 2Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, 3German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 4Unit of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Experimental Endocrinology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine We developed a protocol to assess well-being in mice during procedures using general anesthesia. A series of behavioral parameters indicating levels of well-being as well as glucocorticoid metabolites were analyzed. The protocol can serve as a general aid to estimate the degree of severity in a scientific, animal-centered manner. Biology A Protocol for Using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis to Identify the Appropriate Animal Model for Translational Research Christopher Weidner1, Matthias Steinfath1, Elisa Wistorf1, Michael Oelgeschläger1, Marlon R. Schneider1, Gilbert Schönfelder1,2 1Department of Experimental Toxicology and ZEBET, German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), 2Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin We provide a standardized protocol for the use of gene set enrichment analysis of transcriptomic data to identify an ideal mouse model for translational research. This protocol can be used with DNA microarray and RNA sequencing data and can further be extended to other omics data if data are available. Immunology and Infection Magnetic Stirrer Method for the Detection of Trichinella Larvae in Muscle Samples Anne Mayer-Scholl1, Edoardo Pozio2, Jennifer Gayda1, Nora Thaben1, Peter Bahn1, Karsten Nöckler1 1Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, 2Istituto Superiore di Sanità The prevention of human trichinellosis in many countries worldwide is based on the laboratory examination of muscle samples from susceptible animals by methods of digestion, of which the magnetic stirrer method is considered the gold standard.