A process for preparing carbon fibrils by contacting a source of carbon with a supported catalyst that includes at least one multivalent transition metal having a size of about 35 to 700 A deposited on an inorganic substrate having a size of up to about 400 microns. A causality framework is provided to define relationships between an alternative of a set of alternatives and at least one performance indicator of a set of performance indicators. The assay can be performed by use of a polypeptide that is capable of specifically binding to a glycosaminoglycan-containing molecule. 5 wt %, or wherein P is from about 0.