Search results for: substrate specificity

Authors: Manal Kamel, Sara Maher, Hanan El Baz, Faten Salah, Omar Sayyouh, Zeinab Demerdash

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In the recent COVID 19 pandemic, experts of public health have emphasized testing, tracking infected people, and tracing their contacts as an effective strategy to reduce the spread of the virus. Development of rapid and sensitive diagnostic assays to replace reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is mandatory..Our innovative test strip relying on the application of nanoparticles conjugated to recombinant nanobodies for SARS-COV-2 spike protein (S1) & angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (that is responsible for the virus entry into host cells) for rapid detection of SARS-COV-2 spike protein (S1) in saliva or sputum specimens. Comparative tests with RT-PCR will be held to estimate the significant effect of using COVID 19 nanobodies for the first time in the development of lateral flow test strip. The SARS-CoV-2 S1 (3 ng of recombinant proteins) was detected by our developed LFIA in saliva specimen of COVID-19 Patients No cross-reaction was detected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) or SARS- CoV antigens..Our developed system revealed 96 % sensitivity and 100% specificity for saliva samples compared to 89 % and 100% sensitivity and specificity for nasopharyngeal swabs. providing a reliable alternative for the painful and uncomfortable nasopharyngeal swab process and the complexes, time consuming PCR test. An increase in testing compliances to be expected.

Keywords: COVID 19, diagnosis, LFIA, nanobodies, ACE2

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Authors: Vipin Bhandari, Anupama Singh, Kopal Gupta

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Solid state fermentation, an eminent bioconversion technique for converting many biological substrates into a value-added product, has proven its role in the biotransformation of crops by nutritionally enriching them. Hence, an effort was made for nutritional enhancement of underutilized crops viz. barnyard millet, amaranthus and horse gram based composite flour using SSF. The grains were given pre-treatments before fermentation and these pre-treatments proved quite effective in diminishing the level of antinutrients in grains and in improving their nutritional characteristics. The present study deals with the enhancement of nutritional characteristics of underutilized crops viz. barnyard millet, amaranthus and horsegram based composite flour using solid state fermentation (SSF) as the principle bioconversion technique to convert the composite flour substrate into a nutritionally enriched value added product. Response surface methodology was used to design the experiments. The variables selected for the fermentation experiments were substrate particle size, substrate blend ratio, fermentation time, fermentation temperature and moisture content having three levels of each. Seventeen designed experiments were conducted randomly to find the effect of these variables on microbial count, reducing sugar, pH, total sugar, phytic acid and water absorption index. The data from all experiments were analyzed using Design Expert 8.0.6 and the response functions were developed using multiple regression analysis and second order models were fitted for each response. Results revealed that pretreatments proved quite handful in diminishing the level of antinutrients and thus enhancing the nutritional value of the grains appreciably, for instance, there was about 23% reduction in phytic acid levels after decortication of barnyard millet. The carbohydrate content of the decorticated barnyard millet increased to 81.5% from initial value of 65.2%. Similarly popping and puffing of horsegram and amaranthus respectively greatly reduced the trypsin inhibitor activity. Puffing of amaranthus also reduced the tannin content appreciably. Bacillus subtilis was used as the inoculating specie since it is known to produce phytases in solid state fermentation systems. These phytases remarkably reduce the phytic acid content which acts as a major antinutritional factor in food grains. Results of solid state fermentation experiments revealed that phytic acid levels reduced appreciably when fermentation was allowed to continue for 72 hours at a temperature of 35°C. Particle size and substrate blend ratio also affected the responses positively. All the parameters viz. substrate particle size, substrate blend ratio, fermentation time, fermentation temperature and moisture content affected the responses namely microbial count, reducing sugar, pH, total sugar, phytic acid and water absorption index but the effect of fermentation time was found to be most significant on all the responses. Statistical analysis resulted in the optimum conditions (particle size 355µ, substrate blend ratio 50:20:30 of barnyard millet, amaranthus and horsegram respectively, fermentation time 68 hrs, fermentation temperature 35°C and moisture content 47%) for maximum reduction in phytic acid. The model F- value was found to be highly significant at 1% level of significance in case of all the responses. Hence, second order model could be fitted to predict all the dependent parameters. The effect of fermentation time was found to be most significant as compared to other variables.

Keywords: composite flour, solid state fermentation, underutilized crops, cereals, fermentation technology, food processing

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Authors: P. Singh, R. M. Banik

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Artificial neural network (ANN) was employed to optimize assay parameters viz., time, temperature, pH of reaction mixture, enzyme volume and substrate concentration of L-glutaminase from Bacillus cereus MTCC 1305. ANN model showed high value of coefficient of determination (0.9999), low value of root mean square error (0.6697) and low value of absolute average deviation. A multilayer perceptron neural network trained with an error back-propagation algorithm was incorporated for developing a predictive model and its topology was obtained as 5-3-1 after applying Levenberg Marquardt (LM) training algorithm. The predicted activity of L-glutaminase was obtained as 633.7349 U/l by considering optimum assay parameters, viz., pH of reaction mixture (7.5), reaction time (20 minutes), incubation temperature (35˚C), substrate concentration (40mM), and enzyme volume (0.5ml). The predicted data was verified by running experiment at simulated optimum assay condition and activity was obtained as 634.00 U/l. The application of ANN model for optimization of assay conditions improved the activity of L-glutaminase by 1.499 fold.

Keywords: Bacillus cereus, L-glutaminase, assay parameters, artificial neural network

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Authors: Chia-Jui Yu, Chien-Ju Chen, Jyun-Hao Liao, Chia-Ching Wu, Meng-Chyi Wu

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In this letter, we demonstrate high-performance AlGaN/GaN planar Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) on the silicon substrate with field plate structure for increasing breakdown voltage V_B. A low turn-on resistance R_ON (3.55 mΩ-cm²), low reverse leakage current (< 0.1 µA) at -100 V, and high reverse breakdown voltage V_B (> 1.1 kV) SBD has been fabricated. A virgin SBD exhibited a breakdown voltage (measured at 1 mA/mm) of 615 V, and with the field plate technology device exhibited a breakdown voltage (measured at 1 mA/mm) of 1525 V (the anode–cathode distance was L_AC = 40 µm). Devices without the field plate design exhibit a Baliga’s figure of merit of V_B²/ R_ON = 60.2 MW/cm², whereas devices with the field plate design show a Baliga’s figure of merit of V_B²/ R_ON = 340.9 MW/cm² (the anode–cathode distance was L_AC = 20 µm).

Keywords: AlGaN/GaN heterostructure, silicon substrate, Schottky barrier diode (SBD), high breakdown voltage, Baliga’s figure-of-merit, field plate

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Authors: Shima Mahmoudi, Babak Pourakbari, Setareh Mamishi, Mostafa Teymuri, Majid Marjani

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Although cytokine analysis has greatly contributed to the understanding of tuberculosis (TB) pathogenesis, data on cytokine profiles that might distinguish progression from latency of TB infection are scarce. Since PE/PPE proteins are known to induce strong humoral and cellular immune responses, the aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic potential of interleukin-2 (IL-2) as biomarker after specific antigen stimulation with PE35 and PPE68 for the discrimination of active and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). The production of IL-2 was measured in the antigen-stimulated whole-blood supernatants following stimulation with recombinant PE35 and PPE68. All the patients with active TB and LTBI had positive QuantiFERON-TB Gold in Tube test. The level of IL-2 following stimulation with recombinant PE35 and PPE68 were significantly higher in LTBI group than in patients with active TB infection or control group. The discrimination performance (assessed by the area under ROC curve) for IL-2 following stimulation with recombinant PE35 and PPE68 between LTBI and patients with active TB were 0.837 (95%CI: 0.72-0.97) and 0.75 (95%CI: 0.63-0.89), respectively. Applying the 12.4 pg/mL cut-off for IL-2 induced by PE35 in the present study population resulted in sensitivity of 78%, specificity of 78%, PPV of 78% and NPV of 100%. In addition, a sensitivity of 81%, specificity of 70%, PPV of 67% and 87% of NPV was reported based on the 4.4 pg/mL cut-off for IL-2 induced by PPE68. In conclusion, peptides of the antigen PE35 and PPE68, absent from commonly used BCG strains, stimulated strong IL-2- positive T cell responses in patients with LTBI. This study confirms IL-2 induced by PE35 and PPE68 as a sensitive and specific biomarker and highlights IL-2 as new promising adjunct markers for discriminating of LTBI and Active TB infection.

Keywords: IL-2, PE35, PPE68, tuberculosis

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Authors: Regina R. Gunawan, Indwiani Astuti, H. Raden Danarto

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Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. Cancer is caused by mutations that alter the function of normal human genes and give rise to cancer genes. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a small non-coding RNA that regulates the gen through complementary bond towards mRNA target and cause mRNA degradation. miRNA works by either promoting or suppressing cell proliferation. miRNA level expression in cancer may offer another value of miRNA as a biomarker in cancer diagnostic. miRNA-21 is believed to have a role in carcinogenesis by enhancing proliferation, anti-apoptosis, cell cycle progression and invasion of tumor cells. Hsa-miR-21-5p marker has been identified in Prostate Cancer (PCa) and Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) patient’s urine. This research planned to explore the diagnostic performance of miR-21 to differentiate PCa and BPH patients. In this study, urine samples were collected from 20 PCa patients and 20 BPH patients. miR-21 relative expression against the reference gene was analyzed and compared between the two. miRNA expression was analyzed using the comparative quantification method to find the fold change. miR-21 validity in identifying PCa patients was performed by quantifying the sensitivity and specificity with the contingency table. miR-21 relative expression against miR-16 in PCa patient and in BPH patient has 12,98 differences in fold change. From a contingency table of Cq expression of miR-21 in identifying PCa patients from BPH patient, Cq miR-21 has 100% sensitivity and 75% specificity. miR-21 relative expression can be used in discriminating PCa from BPH by using a urine sample. Furthermore, the expression of miR-21 has higher sensitivity compared to PSA (Prostate specific antigen), therefore miR-21 has a high potential to be analyzed and developed more.

Keywords: benign prostate hyperplasia, biomarker, miRNA-21, prostate cancer

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Authors: Alex Eldo Simon, Abhishek Yadav

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This study aimed to evaluate the utility of postmortem computed tomography (CT) and heart weight measurements in the assessment of cardiomegaly in cases of sudden death due to cardiac origin by comparing the results of these two diagnostic methods. The study retrospectively analyzed postmortem computed tomography (PMCT) data from 54 cases of sudden natural death and compared the findings with those of the autopsy. The study involved measuring the cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) from coronal computed tomography (CT) images and determining the actual cardiac weight by weighing the heart during the autopsy. The inclusion criteria for the study were cases of sudden death suspected to be caused by cardiac pathology, while exclusion criteria included death due to unnatural causes such as trauma or poisoning, diagnosed natural causes of death related to organs other than the heart, and cases of decomposition. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy were calculated, and to evaluate the accuracy of using the cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) to detect an enlarged heart, the study generated receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) is a radiological tool used to assess cardiomegaly by measuring the maximum cardiac diameter in relation to the maximum transverse diameter of the chest wall. The clinically used criteria for CTR have been modified from 0.50 to 0.57 for use in postmortem settings, where abnormalities can be detected by comparing CTR values to this threshold. A CTR value of 0.57 or higher is suggestive of hypertrophy but not conclusive. Similarly, heart weight is measured during the traditional autopsy, and a cardiac weight greater than 450 grams is defined as hypertrophy. Of the 54 cases evaluated, 22 (40.7%) had a cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) ranging from > 0.50 to equal 0.57, and 12 cases (22.2%) had a CTR greater than 0.57, which was defined as hypertrophy. The mean CTR was calculated as 0.52 ± 0.06. Among the 54 cases evaluated, the weight of the heart was measured, and the mean was calculated as 369.4 ± 99.9 grams. Out of the 54 cases evaluated, 12 were found to have hypertrophy as defined by PMCT, while only 9 cases were identified with hypertrophy in traditional autopsy. The sensitivity and specificity of the test were calculated as 55.56% and 84.44%, respectively. The sensitivity of the hypertrophy test was found to be 55.56% (95% CI: 26.66, 81.12¹), the specificity was 84.44% (95% CI: 71.22, 92.25¹), and the diagnostic accuracy was 79.63% (95% CI: 67.1, 88.23¹). The limitation of the study was a low sample size of only 54 cases, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. The comparison of the cardiothoracic ratio with heart weight in this study suggests that PMCT may serve as a screening tool for medico-legal autopsies when performed by forensic pathologists. However, it should be noted that the low sensitivity of the test (55.5%) may limit its diagnostic accuracy, and therefore, further studies with larger sample sizes and more diverse populations are needed to validate these findings.

Keywords: PMCT, virtopsy, CTR, cardiothoracic ratio

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Authors: Najib Al-Fadhali, Huda Majid

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In this article, a substrate integrated waveguide cavity slot antenna was designed using a computer simulation technology software tool to address the specific design challenges for millimeter-wave communications posed by future satellite communications. Due to the symmetrical structure, a high-order mode is generated in SIW, which yields high gain and high efficiency with a compact feed structure. The antenna has dimensions of 20 mm x 20 mm x 1.34 mm. The proposed antenna bandwidth ranges from 45 GHz to 50 GHz, covering a Q-band application such as satellite communication. Antenna efficiency is above 80% over the operational frequency range. The gain of the antenna is above 9 dB with a peak value of 9.4 dB at 47.5 GHz. The proposed antenna is suitable for various millimeter-wave applications such as sensing, body imaging, indoor scenarios, new generations of wireless networks, and future satellite communications. The simulated results show that the SIW antenna resonates throughout the bands of 45 to 50 GHz, making this new antenna cover all applications within this range. The reflection coefficients are below 10 dB in most ranges from 45 to 50 GHz. The compactness, integrity, reliability, and performance at various operating frequencies make the proposed antenna a good candidate for future satellite communications.

Keywords: ultra-wideband, Q-band, SIW, mm-wave, satellite communications

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Authors: Ghulam Mustafa Peerzada, Shagufta Rashid, Nadeem Bashir

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These the influence of initial reagent concentrations on the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) system with Mn2+/Mn3+ as redox catalyst, inorganic bromate as oxidant and pyrogallol as organic substrate was studied. The reactions were monitored by potentiometery in oxidation reduction potential (ORP) mode. The aforesaid reagents were mixed with varying concentrations to evolve the optimal concentrations at which the reaction system exhibited better oscillations. The various oscillatory parameters such as induction period (tin), time period (tp), frequency (v), amplitude (A) and number of oscillations (n) were derived and the dependence of concentration of the reacting species on these oscillatory parameters was interpreted on the basis of the Field-Koros-Noyes mechanism. Ferroin based BZ system with pyrogallol as organic substrate was optimized under CSTR condition at temperature of 30±0.1oC Effect of molecules like monomer and polymer as additives to the system was checked and their interaction with the system was also studied. It has been observed that the monomer affects the time period, while the polymer has its effect on the amplitude of oscillations because of monomer’s interaction with the bromine and polymer’s with that of the Ferroin.

Keywords: Belousov Zhabotinsky reaction, oscillatory parameters, polymer, pyrogallol

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Authors: Chetra Mang, Ahmadali Tahmasebimoradi, Xavier Lorang

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Lattice structures are widely used in various applications, especially in aeronautic, aerospace, and medical applications because of their high performance properties. Thanks to advancement of the additive manufacturing technology, the lattice structures can be manufactured by different methods such as laser beam melting technology. However, the presence of geometric defects in the lattice structures is inevitable due to the manufacturing process. The geometric defects may have high impact on the mechanical strength of the structures. This work analyzes the correlation between the manufacturing parameters and the mechanical strengths of the lattice structures. To do that, two types of the lattice structures; body-centered cubic with z-struts (BCCZ) structures made of Inconel718, and body-centered cubic (BCC) structures made of Scalmalloy, are manufactured by laser melting beam machine using Taguchi design of experiment. Each structure is placed on the substrate with a specific position and orientation regarding the roller direction of deposed metal powder. The position and orientation are considered as the manufacturing parameters. The geometric defects of each beam in the lattice are characterized and used to build the geometric model in order to perform simulations. Then, the mechanical strengths are defined by the homogeneous response as Young's modulus and yield strength. The distribution of mechanical strengths is observed as a function of manufacturing parameters. The mechanical response of the BCCZ structure is stretch-dominated, i.e., the mechanical strengths are directly dependent on the strengths of the vertical beams. As the geometric defects of vertical beams are slightly changed based on their position/orientation on the manufacturing substrate, the mechanical strengths are less dispersed. The manufacturing parameters are less influenced on the mechanical strengths of the structure BCCZ. The mechanical response of the BCC structure is bending-dominated. The geometric defects of inclined beam are highly dispersed within a structure and also based on their position/orientation on the manufacturing substrate. For different position/orientation on the substrate, the mechanical responses are highly dispersed as well. This shows that the mechanical strengths are directly impacted by manufacturing parameters. In addition, this work is carried out to study the uncertainty propagation of the geometric defects on the mechanical strength of the BCC lattice structure made of Scalmalloy. To do that, we observe the distribution of mechanical strengths of the lattice according to the distribution of the geometric defects. A probability density law is determined based on a statistical hypothesis corresponding to the geometric defects of the inclined beams. The samples of inclined beams are then randomly drawn from the density law to build the lattice structure samples. The lattice samples are then used for simulation to characterize the mechanical strengths. The results reveal that the distribution of mechanical strengths of the structures with the same manufacturing parameters is less dispersed than one of the structures with different manufacturing parameters. Nevertheless, the dispersion of mechanical strengths due to the structures with the same manufacturing parameters are unneglectable.

Keywords: geometric defects, lattice structure, mechanical strength, uncertainty propagation

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Authors: Meera Tandan, Mohan Timilsina, Martin Cormican, Akke Vellinga

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Background: In general practice, many infections are treated empirically without microbiological confirmation. Understanding susceptibility of antimicrobials during empirical prescribing can be helpful to reduce inappropriate prescribing. This study aims to apply a prediction model using a decision tree approach to predict the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of urinary tract infections (UTI) based on non-clinical features of patients over 65 years. Decision tree models are a novel idea to predict the outcome of AMR at an initial stage. Method: Data was extracted from the database of the microbiological laboratory of the University Hospitals Galway on all antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of urine specimens from patients over the age of 65 from January 2011 to December 2014. The primary endpoint was resistance to common antimicrobials (Nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, co-amoxiclav and amoxicillin) used to treat UTI. A classification and regression tree (CART) model was generated with the outcome ‘resistant infection’. The importance of each predictor (the number of previous samples, age, gender, location (nursing home, hospital, community) and causative agent) on antimicrobial resistance was estimated. Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive (NPV) and positive predictive (PPV) values were used to evaluate the performance of the model. Seventy-five percent (75%) of the data were used as a training set and validation of the model was performed with the remaining 25% of the dataset. Results: A total of 9805 UTI patients over 65 years had their urine sample submitted for AST at least once over the four years. E.coli, Klebsiella, Proteus species were the most commonly identified pathogens among the UTI patients without catheter whereas Sertia, Staphylococcus aureus; Enterobacter was common with the catheter. The validated CART model shows slight differences in the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV in between the models with and without the causative organisms. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for the model with non-clinical predictors was between 74% and 88% depending on the antimicrobial. Conclusion: The CART models developed using non-clinical predictors have good performance when predicting antimicrobial resistance. These models predict which antimicrobial may be the most appropriate based on non-clinical factors. Other CART models, prospective data collection and validation and an increasing number of non-clinical factors will improve model performance. The presented model provides an alternative approach to decision making on antimicrobial prescribing for UTIs in older patients.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, urinary tract infection, prediction, decision tree

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Authors: F. Laatar, S. Ktifa, H. Ezzaouia

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Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) method is used to deposit hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon films (nc-Si: H) on Porous Anodic Alumina Films (PAF) on glass substrate at different deposition duration. Influence of the deposition time on the physical properties of nc-Si: H grown on PAF was investigated through an extensive correlation between micro-structural and optical properties of these films. In this paper, we present an extensive study of the morphological, structural and optical properties of these films by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques and a UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer. It was found that the changes in DT can modify the films thickness, the surface roughness and eventually improve the optical properties of the composite. Optical properties (optical thicknesses, refractive indexes (n), absorption coefficients (α), extinction coefficients (k), and the values of the optical transitions EG) of this kind of samples were obtained using the data of the transmittance T and reflectance R spectra’s recorded by the UV–Vis–NIR spectrometer. We used Cauchy and Wemple–DiDomenico models for the analysis of the dispersion of the refractive index and the determination of the optical properties of these films.

Keywords: hydragenated nanocrystalline silicon, plasma processing chemical vapor deposition, X-ray diffraction, optical properties

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Authors: Yanhua Zhao, Chenli Rao, Dongdong Li, Chuanmin Tao

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The Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) issued a new laboratory-based algorithm for HIV diagnosis on April 2016, which initially screens with a combination HIV-1/HIV-2 antigen/antibody fourth-generation immunoassay (IA) followed, when reactive, an HIV-1/HIV-2 undifferentiated antibody IA in duplicate. Reactive specimens with concordant results undergo supplemental tests with western blots, or HIV-1 nucleic acid tests (NATs) and non-reactive specimens with discordant results receive HIV-1 NATs or p24 antigen tests or 2-4 weeks follow-up tests. However, little data evaluating the application of the new algorithm have been reported to date. The study was to evaluate the performance of new laboratory-based HIV diagnostic algorithm in an inpatient population of Southwest China over the initial 6 months by compared with the old algorithm. Plasma specimens collected from inpatients from May 1, 2016, to October 31, 2016, are submitted to the laboratory for screening HIV infection performed by both the new HIV testing algorithm and the old version. The sensitivity and specificity of the algorithms and the difference of the categorized numbers of plasmas were calculated. Under the new algorithm for HIV diagnosis, 170 of the total 52 749 plasma specimens were confirmed as positively HIV-infected (0.32%). The sensitivity and specificity of the new algorithm were 100% (170/170) and 100% (52 579/52 579), respectively; while 167 HIV-1 positive specimens were identified by the old algorithm with sensitivity 98.24% (167/170) and 100% (52 579/52 579), respectively. Three acute HIV-1 infections (AHIs) and two early HIV-1 infections (EHIs) were identified by the new algorithm; the former was missed by old procedure. Compared with the old version, the new algorithm produced fewer WB-indeterminate results (2 vs. 16, p = 0.001), which led to fewer follow-up tests. Therefore, the new HIV testing algorithm is more sensitive for detecting acute HIV-1 infections with maintaining the ability to verify the established HIV-1 infections and can dramatically decrease the greater number of WB-indeterminate specimens.

Keywords: algorithm, diagnosis, HIV, laboratory

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Authors: Surasak Siripornadulsil, Nutt Poomai, Wilailak Siripornadulsil

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Due to a high ethanol demand, the approach for effective ethanol production is important and has been developed rapidly worldwide. Several agricultural wastes are highly abundant in celluloses and the effective cellulose enzymes do exist widely among microorganisms. Accordingly, the cellulose degradation using microbial cellulose to produce a low-cost substrate for ethanol production has attracted more attention. In this study, the cellulose producing bacterial strain has been isolated from rich straw and identified by 16S rDNA sequence analysis as Acinetobacter sp. KKU44. This strain is able to grow and exhibit the cellulose activity. The optimal temperature for its growth and cellulose production is 37 °C. The optimal temperature of bacterial cellulose activity is 60 °C. The cellulose enzyme from Acinetobacter sp. KKU44 is heat-tolerant enzyme. The bacterial culture of 36 h. showed highest cellulose activity at 120 U/mL when grown in LB medium containing 2% (w/v). The capability of Acinetobacter sp. KKU44 to grow in cellulosic agricultural wastes as a sole carbon source and exhibiting the high cellulose activity at high temperature suggested that this strain could be potentially developed further as a cellulose degrading strain for a production of low-cost substrate used in ethanol production.

Keywords: cellulose enzyme, bagasse, rice straw, rice husk, acinetobacter sp. KKU44

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Authors: Leonardo C. Pacheco-Londoño, Nataly J Galan-Freyle, Lisandro Pacheco-Lugo, Antonio Acosta-Hoyos, Elkin Navarro, Gustavo Aroca-Martinez, Karin Rondón-Payares, Alberto C. Espinosa-Garavito, Samuel P. Hernández-Rivera

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At the Life Science Research Center at Simon Bolivar University, a primary focus is the diagnosis of various diseases, and the use of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) in diverse biomedical applications is continually expanding. In the present study, Au-NPs were employed as substrates for Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) aimed at diagnosing kidney diseases arising from Lupus Nephritis (LN), preeclampsia (PC), and Hypertension (H). Discrimination models were developed for distinguishing patients with and without kidney diseases based on the SERS signals from urine samples by partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA). A comparative study of the Raman signals across the three conditions was conducted, leading to the identification of potential metabolite signals. Model performance was assessed through cross-validation and external validation, determining parameters like sensitivity and specificity. Additionally, a secondary analysis was performed using machine learning (ML) models, wherein different ML algorithms were evaluated for their efficiency. Models’ validation was carried out using cross-validation and external validation, and other parameters were determined, such as sensitivity and specificity; the models showed average values of 0.9 for both parameters. Additionally, it is not possible to highlight this collaborative effort involved two university research centers and two healthcare institutions, ensuring ethical treatment and informed consent of patient samples.

Keywords: SERS, Raman, PLS-DA, kidney diseases

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Authors: Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ugwu

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Calcium Sulphide which is one of Chalcogenide group of thin films has been analyzed in this work using a theoretical approach in which a scalar wave was propagated through the material thin film medium deposited on a glass substrate with the assumption that the dielectric medium has homogenous reference dielectric constant term, and a perturbed dielectric function, representing the deposited thin film medium on the surface of the glass substrate as represented in this work. These were substituted into a defined scalar wave equation that was solved first of all by transforming it into Volterra equation of second type and solved using the method of separation of variable on scalar wave and subsequently, Green’s function technique was introduced to obtain a model equation of wave propagating through the thin film that was invariably used in computing the propagated field, for different input wavelengths representing UV, Visible and Near-infrared regions of field considering the influence of the dielectric constants of the thin film on the propagating field. The results obtained were used in turn to compute the band gaps, solid state and optical properties of the thin film.

Keywords: scalar wave, dielectric constant, calcium sulphide, solid state, optical properties

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Authors: Andrej Pilipović, Branislav Kovačević, Marina Milović, Lazar Kesić, Saša Pekeč, Leopold Poljaković-Pajnik, Saša Orlović

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The effect of landfills on the environment reflects in the dispersion of the contaminants on surrounding soils by the groundwater plume. Such negative effect can be mitigated with the establishment of vegetative buffers surrounding landfills. The “TreeRemEnergy” project funded by the Science Fund of Republic of Serbia – Green program focuses on development of phytobuffers for landfill phytoremediation with the use of Short Rotation Woody Crops (SRWC) plantations that can be further used for the biomass for energy. One of the goals of the project is to select most appropriate poplar (Populus sp.) and willow (Salix sp.) clones through phytorecurrent selection that involves testing of various breeding traits. Physiological parameters serve as a significant contribution to the breeding process aimed to early detection of potential candidates. This study involved testing of the effect of the landfill soils on the photosynthetic processes of the selected poplar and willow candidates. For this purpose, measurements of the gas exchange, chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence were measured on the tested plants. Obtained results showed that there were differences in the influence of the controlled sources of variation on examined physiological parameters. The effect of clone was significant in all parameters, while the effect of the substrate was not statistically significant in any of measured parameters. However, the effect of interaction Clone×Substrate was significant in intercellular CO2 concentration(ci), stomatal conductance (gs) and transpiration rate (E), suggesting that water regime of the tested clones showed different response to the tested soils. Some clones showed more “generalist” behavior (380, 107/65/9, and PE19/66), while “specialist” behavior was recorded in clones PE4/68, S1-8, and 79/64/2. On the other hand, there was no significant effect of the tested substrate on the pigments content measured with SPAD meter. Results of this study allowed us to narrow the group of clones for further trails in field conditions.

Keywords: clones, net photosynthesis, WUE, transpiration, stomatal conductance, SPAD

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Authors: Belgherbi Aicha, Bessaid Abdelhafid

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In the recent years a great deal of research work has been devoted to the development of semi-automatic and automatic techniques for the analysis of abdominal CT images. The first and fundamental step in all these studies is the semi-automatic liver and spleen segmentation that is still an open problem. In this paper, a semi-automatic liver and spleen segmentation method by the mathematical morphology based on watershed algorithm has been proposed. Our algorithm is currency in two parts. In the first, we seek to determine the region of interest by applying the morphological to extract the liver and spleen. The second step consists to improve the quality of the image gradient. In this step, we propose a method for improving the image gradient to reduce the over-segmentation problem by applying the spatial filters followed by the morphological filters. Thereafter we proceed to the segmentation of the liver, spleen. The aim of this work is to develop a method for semi-automatic segmentation liver and spleen based on watershed algorithm, improve the accuracy and the robustness of the liver and spleen segmentation and evaluate a new semi-automatic approach with the manual for liver segmentation. To validate the segmentation technique proposed, we have tested it on several images. Our segmentation approach is evaluated by comparing our results with the manual segmentation performed by an expert. The experimental results are described in the last part of this work. The system has been evaluated by computing the sensitivity and specificity between the semi-automatically segmented (liver and spleen) contour and the manually contour traced by radiological experts. Liver segmentation has achieved the sensitivity and specificity; sens Liver=96% and specif Liver=99% respectively. Spleen segmentation achieves similar, promising results sens Spleen=95% and specif Spleen=99%.

Keywords: CT images, liver and spleen segmentation, anisotropic diffusion filter, morphological filters, watershed algorithm

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Authors: Surabhi Agrawal Kohli, Sunita Gupta, Esha Khanuja, Parul Garg, P. Gupta

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Background: Adenomyosis is a common gynaecological condition that affects the menstruating women. Uterine enlargement, dysmenorrhoea, and menorrhagia are regarded as the cardinal clinical symptoms of adenomyosis. Classically it was thought, compared with ultrasonography, when adenomyosis is suspected, MRI enables more accurate diagnosis of the disease. Materials and Methods: 172 subjects were enrolled after an informed consent that had complaints of HMB, dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, and chronic pelvic pain. Detailed history of the enrolled subjects was taken, followed by a clinical examination. These patients were then subjected to TVS where myometrial echo texture, presence of myometrial cysts, blurring of endomyometrial junction was noted. MRI was followed which noted the presence of junctional zone thickness and myometrial cysts. After hysterectomy, histopathological diagnosis was obtained. Results: 78 participants were analysed. The mean age was 44.2 years. 43.5% had parity of 4 or more. heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) was present in 97.8% and dysmenorrhea in 93.48 % of HPE positive patient. Transvaginal sonography (TVS) and MRI had a sensitivity of 89.13% and 80.43%, specificity of 90.62% and 84.37%, positive likelihood ratio of 9.51 and 5.15, negative likelihood ratio of 0.12 and 0.23, positive predictive value of 93.18% and 88.1%, negative predictive value of 85.29% and 75% and a diagnostic accuracy of 89.74% and 82.5%. Comparison of sensitivity (p=0.289) and specificity (p=0.625) showed no statistically significant difference between TVS and MRI. Conclusion: Prevalence of 30.23%. HMB with dysmenorrhoea and chronic pelvic pain helps in diagnosis. TVS (Endomyometrial junction blurring) is both sensitive and specific in diagnosing adenomyosis without need for additional diagnostic tool. Both TVS and MRI are equally efficient, however because of certain additional advantages of TVS over MRI, it may be used as the first choice of imaging. MRI may be used additionally in difficult cases as well as in patients with existing co-pathologies.

Keywords: adenomyosis, heavy menstrual bleeding, MRI, TVS

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Authors: Anastasios Rodis

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Background: Case studies of walkers, climbers, and campers exposed to cold and wet conditions without limb water/windproof protection revealed experiences of muscle weakness and fatigue. It is reasonable to assume that a part of the fatigue could occur due to an alteration in substrate utilization, since reduction of performance in extreme cold conditions, may partially be explained by higher anaerobic glycolysis, reflecting higher carbohydrate oxidation and an increase accumulation rate of blood lactate. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of pre-exercise lower limb cooling on substrate utilization rate during sub-maximal exercise. Method: Six male university students (mean (SD): age, 21.3 (1.0) yr; maximal oxygen uptake (V0₂ max), 49.6 (3.6) ml.min⁻¹; and percentage of body fat, 13.6 (2.5) % were examined in random order after either 30min cold water (12°C) immersion utilized as the cooling strategy up to the gluteal fold, or under control conditions (no precooling), with tests separated by minimum of 7 days. Exercise consisted of 60min cycling at 50% V0₂ max, in a thermoneutral environment of 20°C. Subjects were also required to record a diet diary over the 24hrs prior to the each trial. Means (SD) for the three macronutrients during the 1 day prior to each trial (expressed as a percentage of total energy) 52 (3) % carbohydrate, 31 (4) % fat, and 17 (± 2) % protein. Results: The following responses to lower limb cooling relative to control trial during exercise were: 1) Carbohydrate (CHO) oxidation, and blood lactate (Bₗₐc) concentration were significantly higher (P < 0.05); 2) rectal temperature (Tᵣₑc) was significantly higher (P < 0.05), but skin temperature was significantly lower (P < 0.05); no significant differences were found in blood glucose (Bg), heart rate (HR) and oxygen consumption (V0₂). Discussion: These data suggested that lower limb cooling prior to submaximal exercise will shift metabolic processes from Fat oxidation to CHO oxidation. This shift from Fat to CHO oxidation will probably have important implications in the surviving scenario, since people facing accidental localized cooling of their limbs either through wading/falling in cold water or snow even if they do not perform high intensity activity, they have to rely on CHO availability.

Keywords: exercise in wet conditions, leg cooling, outdoors exercise, substrate utilization

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Authors: Ahmed M. Debela, Mayreli Ortiz , Ciara K. O´Sullivan

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The completion of the human genome Project (HGP) has paved the way for mapping the diversity in the overall genome sequence which helps to understand the genetic causes of inherited diseases and susceptibility to drugs or environmental toxins. Arrayed primer extension (APEX) is a microarray based minisequencing strategy for screening disease causing mutations. It is derived from Sanger DNA sequencing and uses fluorescently dideoxynucleotides (ddNTPs) for termination of a growing DNA strand from a primer with its 3´- end designed immediately upstream of a site where single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) occurs. The use of DNA polymerase offers a very high accuracy and specificity to APEX which in turn happens to be a method of choice for multiplex SNP detection. Coupling the high specificity of this method with the high sensitivity, low cost and compatibility for miniaturization of electrochemical techniques would offer an excellent platform for detection of mutation as well as sequencing of DNA templates. We are developing an electrochemical APEX for the analysis of SNPs found in the MYH7 gene for group of cardiomyopathy patients. ddNTPs were labeled with four different redox active compounds with four distinct potentials. Thiolated oligonucleotide probes were immobilised on gold and glassy carbon substrates which are followed by hybridisation with complementary target DNA just adjacent to the base to be extended by polymerase. Electrochemical interrogation was performed after the incorporation of the redox labelled dedioxynucleotide. The work involved the synthesis and characterisation of the redox labelled ddNTPs, optimisation and characterisation of surface functionalisation strategies and the nucleotide incorporation assays.

Keywords: array based primer extension, labelled ddNTPs, electrochemical, mutations

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Authors: Manjit Singha, Sandeep Singh Sandhu, A. S. Shahi

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Stellite 6 is cobalt based superalloy used for protective coatings. It is used to improve the wear performance of stainless steel engineering components subjected to harsh environmental conditions. This paper reports the high temperature wear analysis of satellite 6 cladded on AISI 304 L substrate using SMAW process. Bead on plate experiment was carried out by varying current and electrode manipulation techniques to optimize the dilution and hardness. 80 Amp current and weaving technique was found to be the optimum set of parameters for overlaying which were further used for multipass multilayer cladding on two plates of AISI 304 L substrate. On the first plate, seven layers seven passes of stellite 6 was overlaid which was used in as cladded form and the second plate was overlaid with five layers five passes of satellite 6 with further TIG remelting. The wear performance was examined for normal temperature environmental condition and harsh temperature environmental condition. The satellite 6 coating with TIG remelting was found to be better in both the conditions even with lesser metal deposition due to its finer grain structure.

Keywords: surfacing, stellite 6, dilution, overlay, SMAW, high-temperature frictional wear, micro-structure, micro-hardness

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Authors: Kidane workelul, Li xu, Xiaoyang Pang, Jiaping Lv

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Dairy products are exceptionally ideal media for the growth of microorganisms because of their high nutritional content. There are several ways that milk might get contaminated throughout the milking process, including how the raw milk is transported and stored, as well as how long it is kept before being processed. Psychrotrophic bacteria are among the one which can deteriorate the quality of milk mainly their heat resistance proteas and lipase enzyme. For this research purpose 8 selected strains of Psychrotrophic bacteria (Entrococcus hirae, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas azotoformans, Pseudomonas putida, Exiguobacterium indicum, Pseudomonas paralactice, Acinetobacter indicum, Serratia liquefacients)are chosen and try to determine their characteristics based on the research methodology protocol. Thus, the 8 selected strains are cultured, plated incubate, extracted their genomic DNA and genome DNA was amplified, the purpose of the study was to identify their Psychrotrophic properties, lipase hydrolysis positive test, their optimal incubation temperature, designed primer using the noble strain P,flourescens conserved region area in target with lipA gene, optimized primer specificity as well as sensitivity and PCR detection for lipase positive strains using the design primers. Based on the findings both the selected 8 strains isolated from stored raw milk are Psychrotrophic bacteria, 6 of the selected strains except the 2 strains are positive for lipase hydrolysis, their optimal temperature is 20 to 30 OC, the designed primer specificity is very accurate and amplifies for those strains only with lipase positive but could not amplify for the others. Thus, the result is promising and could help in detecting the Psychrotrophic bacteria producing heat resistance enzymes (lipase) at early stage before the milk is processed and this will safe production loss for the dairy industry.

Keywords: dairy industry, heat-resistant, lipA, milk, primer and psychrotrophic

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Authors: F. Sarkinfada, Dabo N. Tukur, Abbas A. Muaz, Adamu A. Yahuza

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Appropriate Quality Assurance (QA) of parasite-based diagnosis of malaria to justify Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) is essential for Malaria Programmes. In Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), resource constrain appears to be a major challenge in implementing the conventional QA system. We designed and implemented a modified LQAS model for QA of malaria parasite (MP) microscopy and RDT in a State Specialist Hospital (SSH) and a University Health Clinic (UHC) in Kano, Nigeria. The capacities of both facilities for MP microscopy and RDT were assessed before implementing a modified LQAS over a period of 3 months. Quality indicators comprising the qualities of blood film and staining, MP positivity rates, concordance rates, error rates (in terms of false positives and false negatives), sensitivity and specificity were monitored and evaluated. Seventy one percent (71%) of the basic requirements for malaria microscopy was available in both facilities, with the absence of certifies microscopists, SOPs and Quality Assurance mechanisms. A daily average of 16 to 32 blood samples were tested with a blood film staining quality of >70% recorded in both facilities. Using microscopy, the MP positivity rates were 50.46% and 19.44% in SSH and UHS respectively, while the MP positivity rates were 45.83% and 22.78% in SSH and UHS when RDT was used. Higher concordance rates of 88.90% and 93.98% were recorded in SSH and UHC respectively using microscopy, while lower rates of 74.07% and 80.58% in SSH and UHC were recorded when RDT was used. In both facilities, error rates were higher when RDT was used than with microscopy. Sensitivity and specificity were higher when microscopy was used (95% and 84% in SSH; 94% in UHC) than when RDT was used (72% and 76% in SSH; 78% and 81% in UHC). It could be feasible to implement an integrated QA model for MP microscopy and RDT using modified LQAS in Malaria Control Programmes in Low and Middle Income Countries that might have resource constrain for parasite-base diagnosis of malaria to justify ACT treatment.

Keywords: malaria, microscopy, quality assurance, RDT

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Authors: Andreea Campu, Ilinica Muresan, Simona Cainap, Simion Astilean, Monica Focsan

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Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the most severe cardiovascular disease, which has threatened human lives for decades, thus a continuous interest is directed towards the detection of cardiac biomarkers such as cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in order to predict risk and, implicitly, fulfill the early diagnosis requirements in AMI settings. Microfluidics is a major technology involved in the development of efficient sensing devices with real-time fast responses and on-site applicability. Microfluidic devices have gathered a lot of attention recently due to their advantageous features such as high sensitivity and specificity, miniaturization and portability, ease-of-use, low-cost, facile fabrication, and reduced sample manipulation. The integration of gold nanoparticles into the structure of microfluidic sensors has led to the development of highly effective detection systems, considering the unique properties of the metallic nanostructures, specifically the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR), which makes them highly sensitive to their microenvironment. In this scientific context, herein, we propose the implementation of a novel detection device, which successfully combines the efficiency of gold bipyramids (AuBPs) as signal transducers and thermal generators with the sample-driven advantages of the microfluidic channels into a miniaturized, portable, low-cost, specific, and sensitive test for the dual LSPR-thermographic cTnI detection. Specifically, AuBPs with longitudinal LSPR response at 830 nm were chemically synthesized using the seed-mediated growth approach and characterized in terms of optical and morphological properties. Further, the colloidal AuBPs were deposited onto pre-treated silanized glass substrates thus, a uniform nanoparticle coverage of the substrate was obtained and confirmed by extinction measurements showing a 43 nm blue-shift of the LSPR response as a consequence of the refractive index change. The as-obtained plasmonic substrate was then integrated into a microfluidic “Y”-shaped polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channel, fabricated using a Laser Cutter system. Both plasmonic and microfluidic elements were plasma treated in order to achieve a permanent bond. The as-developed microfluidic plasmonic chip was further coupled to an automated syringe pump system. The proposed biosensing protocol implicates the successive injection inside the microfluidic channel as follows: p-aminothiophenol and glutaraldehyde, to achieve a covalent bond between the metallic surface and cTnI antibody, anti-cTnI, as a recognition element, and target cTnI biomarker. The successful functionalization and capture of cTnI was monitored by LSPR detection thus, after each step, a red-shift of the optical response was recorded. Furthermore, as an innovative detection technique, thermal determinations were made after each injection by exposing the microfluidic plasmonic chip to 785 nm laser excitation, considering that the AuBPs exhibit high light-to-heat conversion performances. By the analysis of the thermographic images, thermal curves were obtained, showing a decrease in the thermal efficiency after the anti-cTnI-cTnI reaction was realized. Thus, we developed a microfluidic plasmonic chip able to operate as both LSPR and thermal sensor for the detection of the cardiac troponin I biomarker, leading thus to the progress of diagnostic devices.

Keywords: gold nanobipyramids, microfluidic device, localized surface plasmon resonance detection, thermographic detection

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Authors: Temesgen Geremew

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The excessive emission of heavy metal ions from industrial processes poses a serious threat to both the environment and human health. This study presents a distinct approach utilizing (PTh-MnS/CoS NPs) for the highly selective and sensitive detection of Hg²⁺ ions in water. Such detection is crucial for safeguarding human health, protecting the environment, and accurately assessing toxicity. The fabrication method employs a simple and efficient chemical precipitation technique, harmoniously combining polythiophene, MnS, and CoS NPs to create highly active substrates for SERS. The MnS@Hg²⁺ exhibits a distinct Raman shift at 1666 cm⁻¹, enabling specific identification and demonstrating the highest responsiveness among the studied semiconductor substrates with a detection limit of only 1 nM. This investigation demonstrates reliable and practical SERS detection for Hg²⁺ ions. Relative standard deviation (RSD) ranged from 0.49% to 9.8%, and recovery rates varied from 96% to 102%, indicating selective adsorption of Hg²⁺ ions on the synthesized substrate. Furthermore, this research led to the development of a remarkable set of substrates, including (MnS, CoS, MnS/CoS, and PTh-MnS/CoS) nanoparticles were created right there on SiO₂/Si substrate, all exhibiting sensitive, robust, and selective SERS for Hg²⁺ ion detection. These platforms effectively monitor Hg²⁺ concentrations in real environmental samples.

Keywords: surface-enhanced raman spectroscopy (SERS), sensor, mercury ions, nanoparticles, and polythiophene.

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Authors: Muhammad Fiaz Qamar, Uzma Mehreen, Muhammad Arfan Zaman, Kazim Ali

Abstract:

Ovine Theileriosis is a world-wide concern, especially in tropical and subtropical areas, due to having tick abundance that has received less awareness in different developed and developing areas due to less worth of sheep, low to the middle level of infection in different small ruminants herd. Across Asia, the prevalence reports have been conducted to provide equivalent calculation of flock and animal level prevalence of Theileriosisin animals. It is a challenge for veterinarians to timely diagnosis & control of Theileriosis and famers because of the nature of the organism and inadequacy of restricted plans to control. All most work is based upon the development of such a technique which should be farmer-friendly, less expensive, and easy to perform into the field. By the timely diagnosis of this disease will decrease the irrational use of the drugs, and other plan was to determine the prevalence of Theileriosis in District Jhang by using the conventional method, PCR and qPCR, and LAMP. We quantify the molecular epidemiology of T.lestoquardiin sheep from Jhang districts, Punjab, Pakistan. In this study, we concluded that the overall prevalence of Theileriosis was (32/350*100= 9.1%) in sheep by using Giemsa staining technique, whereas (48/350*100= 13%) is observed by using PCR technique (56/350*100=16%) in qPCR and the LAMP technique have shown up to this much prevalence percentage (60/350*100= 17.1%). The specificity and sensitivity also calculated in comparison with the PCR and LAMP technique. Means more positive results have been shown when the diagnosis has been done with the help of LAMP. And there is little bit of difference between the positive results of PCR and qPCR, and the least positive animals was by using Giemsa staining technique/conventional method. If we talk about the specificity and sensitivity of the LAMP as compared to PCR, The cross tabulation shows that the results of sensitivity of LAMP counted was 94.4%, and specificity of LAMP counted was 78%. Advances in scientific field must be upon reality based ideas which can lessen the gaps and hurdles in the way of scientific research; the lamp is one of such techniques which have done wonders in adding value and helping human at large. It is such a great biological diagnostic tools and has helped a lot in the proper diagnosis and treatment of certain diseases. Other methods for diagnosis, such as culture techniques and serological techniques, have exposed humans with great danger. However, with the help of molecular diagnostic technique like LAMP, exposure to such pathogens is being avoided in the current era Most prompt and tentative diagnosis can be made using LAMP. Other techniques like PCR has many disadvantages when compared to LAMP as PCR is a relatively expensive, time consuming, and very complicated procedure while LAMP is relatively cheap, easy to perform, less time consuming, and more accurate. LAMP technique has removed hurdles in the way of scientific research and molecular diagnostics, making it approachable to poor and developing countries.

Keywords: distribution, thelaria, LAMP, primer sequences, PCR

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Authors: Kathrina Aseanne Acapulco-Gomez, Shayne Julieane Morales, Tzar Francis Verame

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Mean platelet volume (MPV) is the most accurate measure of the size of platelets and is routinely measured by most automated hematological analyzers. Several studies have shown associations between MPV and cardiovascular risks and outcomes. Although its measurement may provide useful data, MPV remains to be a diagnostic tool that is yet to be included in routine clinical decision making. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine summary estimates of the diagnostic accuracy of mean platelet volume for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction among adult patients with angina and/or its equivalents in terms of sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic odds ratio, and likelihood ratios, and to determine the difference of the mean MPV values between those with MI and those in the non-MI controls. The primary search was done through search in electronic databases PubMed, Cochrane Review CENTRAL, HERDIN (Health Research and Development Information Network), Google Scholar, Philippine Journal of Pathology, and Philippine College of Physicians Philippine Journal of Internal Medicine. The reference list of original reports was also searched. Cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control articles studying the diagnostic performance of mean platelet volume in the diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in adult patients were included in the study. Studies were included if: (1) CBC was taken upon presentation to the ER or upon admission (within 24 hours of symptom onset); (2) myocardial infarction was diagnosed with serum markers, ECG, or according to accepted guidelines by the Cardiology societies (American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC), European Society of Cardiology (ESC); and, (3) if outcomes were measured as significant difference AND/OR sensitivity and specificity. The authors independently screened for inclusion of all the identified potential studies as a result of the search. Eligible studies were appraised using well-defined criteria. Any disagreement between the reviewers was resolved through discussion and consensus. The overall mean MPV value of those with MI (9.702 fl; 95% CI 9.07 – 10.33) was higher than in those of the non-MI control group (8.85 fl; 95% CI 8.23 – 9.46). Interpretation of the calculated t-value of 2.0827 showed that there was a significant difference in the mean MPV values of those with MI and those of the non-MI controls. The summary sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) for MPV were 0.66 (95% CI; 0.59 - 0.73) and 0.60 (95% CI; 0.43 – 0.75), respectively. The pooled diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) was 2.92 (95% CI; 1.90 – 4.50). The positive likelihood ratio of MPV in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction was 1.65 (95% CI; 1.20 – 22.27), and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.56 (95% CI; 0.50 – 0.64). The intended role for MPV in the diagnostic pathway of myocardial infarction would perhaps be best as a triage tool. With a DOR of 2.92, MPV values can discriminate between those who have MI and those without. For a patient with angina presenting with elevated MPV values, it is 1.65 times more likely that he has MI. Thus, it is implied that the decision to treat a patient with angina or its equivalents as a case of MI could be supported by an elevated MPV value.

Keywords: mean platelet volume, MPV, myocardial infarction, angina, chest pain

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Authors: S. Mezghani, E. Perrin, J. L. Bodnar, J. Marthe, B. Cauwe, V. Vrabie

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Non contact evaluation of the thickness of paint coatings can be attempted by different destructive and nondestructive methods such as cross-section microscopy, gravimetric mass measurement, magnetic gauges, Eddy current, ultrasound or terahertz. Infrared thermography is a nondestructive and non-invasive method that can be envisaged as a useful tool to measure the surface thickness variations by analyzing the temperature response. In this paper, the thermal quadrupole method for two layered samples heated up with a pulsed excitation is firstly used. By analyzing the thermal responses as a function of thermal properties and thicknesses of both layers, optimal parameters for the excitation source can be identified. Simulations show that a pulsed excitation with duration of ten milliseconds allows to obtain a substrate-independent thermal response. Based on this result, an experimental setup consisting of a near-infrared laser diode and an Infrared camera was next used to evaluate the variation of paint coating thickness between 60 µm and 130 µm on two samples. Results show that the parameters extracted for thermal images are correlated with the estimated thicknesses by the Eddy current methods. The laser pulsed thermography is thus an interesting alternative nondestructive method that can be moreover used for non conductive substrates.

Keywords: non destructive, paint coating, thickness, infrared thermography, laser, heterogeneity

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Authors: J. J. Lee, S. R. Sung, E. J. Yum, S. C. Kim, B. H. Hyun, M. Her, H. S. Lee

Abstract:

Canine brucellosis is a critical problem in dogs leading to reproductive diseases which are mainly caused by Brucella canis. There are, nonetheless, not clear symptoms so that it may go unnoticed in most of the cases. Serodiagnosis for canine brucellosis has not been confirmed. Moreover, it has substantial difficulties due to broad cross-reactivity between the rough cell wall antigens of B. canis and heterospecific antibodies present in normal, uninfected dogs. Thus, this study was conducted to characterize the immunogenic proteins in cytoplasmic antigen (CPAg) of B. canis, which defined the antigenic sensitivity of the humoral antibody responses to B. canis-infected dogs. In analysis of B. canis CPAg, first, we extracted and purified the cytoplasmic proteins from cultured B. canis by hot-saline inactivation, ultrafiltration, sonication, and ultracentrifugation step by step according to the sonicated antigen extract method. For characterization of this antigen, we checked the sort and range of each protein on SDS-PAGE and verified the immunogenic proteins leading to reaction with antisera of B. canis-infected dogs. Selected immunodominant proteins were identified using MALDI-MS/MS. As a result, in an immunoproteomic assay, several polypeptides in CPAg on one or two-dimensional electrophoresis (DE) were specifically reacted to antisera from B. canis-infected dogs but not from non-infected dogs. The polypeptides with approximate 150, 80, 60, 52, 33, 26, 17, 15, 13, 11 kDa on 1-DE were dominantly recognized by antisera from B. canis-infected dogs. In the immunoblot profiles on 2-DE, ten immunodominant proteins in CPAg were detected with antisera of infected dogs between pI 3.5-6.5 at approximate 35 to 10 KDa, without any nonspecific reaction with sera in non-infected dogs. Ten immunodominant proteins identified by MALDI-MS/MS were identified as superoxide dismutase, bacteroferritin, amino acid ABC transporter substrate-binding protein, extracellular solute-binding protein family3, transaldolase, 26kDa periplasmic immunogenic protein, Rhizopine-binding protein, enoyl-CoA hydratase, arginase and type1 glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. Most of these proteins were determined by their cytoplasmic or periplasmic localization with metabolism and transporter functions. Consequently, this study discovered and identified the prominent immunogenic proteins in B. canis CPAg, highlighting that those antigenic proteins may accomplish a specific serodiagnosis for canine brucellosis. Furthermore, we will evaluate those immunodominant proteins for applying to the advanced diagnostic methods with high specificity and accuracy.

Keywords: Brucella canis, Canine brucellosis, cytoplasmic antigen, immunogenic proteins

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