A rapid screening method to select microdialysis carriers for hydrophobic compounds

Microdialysis is a minimally invasive sampling technique which is widely applied in many fields including clinical studies. This technique usually has limitation on sampling hydrophobic compounds as aqueous solutions are commonly used as the perfusates. The relative recovery of hydrophobic compounds is often low and irreproducible because of the non-specific binding to microdialysis membranes or catheter tubing. Carriers such as cyclodextrins have been used to improve the recovery and consistency, however the identification of an optimal carrier can only be achieved after time-consuming and costly microdialysis experiments. We therefore developed a rapid, convenient, and low-cost method to identify the optimal carriers for sampling hydrophobic compounds with the use of centrifugal ultrafiltration. Doxorubicin was used as the model compound and its relative recoveries obtained from centrifugal ultrafiltration and from microdialysis were compared. The results show that the relative recoveries are highly correlated (correlation coefficient ≥ 0.9) between centrifugal ultrafiltration and microdialysis when different types or different concentrations of cyclodextrins were used as the carriers. In addition to doxorubicin, this method was further confirmed on three other drugs with different hydrophobicity. This method may facilitate and broaden the use of microdialysis perfusion on sampling or delivering hydrophobic substances in various applications.

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Electrocardiogram lead selection for intelligent screening of patients with systolic heart failure

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-81374-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yu-An Chiou ◽

Jhen-Yang Syu ◽

Sz-Ying Wu ◽

Lian-Yu Lin ◽

Li Tzu Yi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Low Cost ◽

Screening Method ◽

Systolic Heart Failure ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

Ecg Signals ◽

Testing Dataset ◽

Lead Selection ◽

Ecg Leads ◽

Intelligent Screening

AbstractElectrocardiogram (ECG)-based intelligent screening for systolic heart failure (HF) is an emerging method that could become a low-cost and rapid screening tool for early diagnosis of the disease before the comprehensive echocardiographic procedure. We collected 12-lead ECG signals from 900 systolic HF patients (ejection fraction, EF < 50%) and 900 individuals with normal EF in the absence of HF symptoms. The 12-lead ECG signals were converted by continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to 2D spectra and classified using a 2D convolutional neural network (CNN). The 2D CWT spectra of 12-lead ECG signals were trained separately in 12 identical 2D-CNN models. The 12-lead classification results of the 2D-CNN model revealed that Lead V6 had the highest accuracy (0.93), sensitivity (0.97), specificity (0.89), and f1 scores (0.94) in the testing dataset. We designed four comprehensive scoring methods to integrate the 12-lead classification results into a key diagnostic index. The highest quality result among these four methods was obtained when Leads V5 and V6 of the 12-lead ECG signals were combined. Our new 12-lead ECG signal–based intelligent screening method using straightforward combination of ECG leads provides a fast and accurate approach for pre-screening for systolic HF.

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D-karyo—A New Prenatal Rapid Screening Test Detecting Submicroscopic CNVs and Mosaicism

Diagnostics ◽

10.3390/diagnostics11020337 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 337

Author(s):

Osamu Shimokawa ◽

Masayoshi Takeda ◽

Hiroyasu Ohashi ◽

Akemi Shono-Ota ◽

Mami Kumagai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Screening Test ◽

Low Cost ◽

Screening Method ◽

Turnaround Time ◽

Copy Number Variations ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

High Price ◽

Chromosomal Microarray ◽

Chromosomal Microarray Analysis ◽

Rapid Screening Test

Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA), recently introduced following conventional cytogenetic technology, can detect submicroscopic copy-number variations (CNVs) in cases previously diagnosed as “cytogenetically benign”. At present, rapid and accurate chromosomal analysis is required in prenatal diagnostics, but prenatal CMA is not widely used due to its high price and long turnaround time. We introduced a new prenatal screening method named digital karyotyping (D-karyo), which utilizes a preimplantation genetic test for the aneuploidy (PGT-A) platform. First, we conducted a preliminary experiment to compare the original PGT-A method to our modified method. Based on the preliminary results, we decided to implement the modified strategy without whole-genome amplification (WGA) and combined it with three analytical software packages. Next, we conducted a prospective study with 824 samples. According to the indication for invasive tests, the D-karyo positive rates were 2.5% and 5.0%, respectively, in the screening positive group with NT ≥ 3.5 mm and the group with fetal abnormalities by ultrasound. D-karyo is a breakthrough modality that can detect submicroscopic CNVs ≥ 1.0 Mb accurately in only 10.5 h for 24 samples at a low cost. Implementing D-karyo as a prenatal rapid screening test will reduce unnecessary CMA and achieve more accurate prenatal genetic testing than G-banding.

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Measurement of radioactivity - Gamma emitting radionuclides - Rapid screening method using scintillation detector gamma-ray spectrometry

10.3403/30298317u ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Scintillation Detector ◽

Gamma Ray ◽

Screening Method ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

Gamma Ray Spectrometry ◽

Rapid Screening Method

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Measurement of radioactivity - Gamma emitting radionuclides - Rapid screening method using scintillation detector gamma-ray spectrometry

10.3403/30298317 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Scintillation Detector ◽

Gamma Ray ◽

Screening Method ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

Gamma Ray Spectrometry ◽

Rapid Screening Method

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Optically Based Rapid Screening Method for Proven Optimal Treatment Strategies before Treatment Begins

10.21236/ada609390 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Melissa C. Skala

Keyword(s):

Screening Method ◽

Treatment Strategies ◽

Optimal Treatment ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

Rapid Screening Method

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Genotype-Dependent Tipburn Severity During Lettuce Hydroponic Culture Is Associated with Altered Nutrient Leaf Content

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11040616 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 616

Author(s):

Virginia Birlanga ◽

José Ramón Acosta-Motos ◽

José Manuel Pérez-Pérez

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

Nutrient Content ◽

Leafy Vegetables ◽

Production Methods ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Lactuca Sativa L ◽

Hydroponic Cultivation ◽

Highly Correlated ◽

Nutrient Solutions ◽

Nutrient Traits

Cultivated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most important leafy vegetables in the world, and most of the production is concentrated in the Mediterranean Basin. Hydroponics has been successfully utilized for lettuce cultivation, which could contribute to the diversification of production methods and the reduction of water consumption and excessive fertilization. We devised a low-cost procedure for closed hydroponic cultivation and easy phenotyping of root and shoot attributes of lettuce. We studied 12 lettuce genotypes of the crisphead and oak-leaf subtypes, which differed on their tipburn resistance, for three growing seasons (Fall, Winter, and Spring). We found interesting genotype × environment (G × E) interactions for some of the studied traits during early growth. By analyzing tipburn incidence and leaf nutrient content, we were able to identify a number of nutrient traits that were highly correlated with cultivar- and genotype-dependent tipburn. Our experimental setup will allow evaluating different lettuce genotypes in defined nutrient solutions to select for tipburn-tolerant and highly productive genotypes that are suitable for hydroponics.

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Plant-Produced Antigen Displaying Virus-Like Particles Evokes Potent Antibody Responses against West Nile Virus in Mice

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines9010060 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 60

Author(s):

Junyun He ◽

Huafang Lai ◽

Adrian Esqueda ◽

Qiang Chen

Keyword(s):

West Nile Virus ◽

Fusion Protein ◽

Nicotiana Benthamiana ◽

Specific Binding ◽

Low Cost ◽

Gradient Centrifugation ◽

Conformational Epitope ◽

Protein Domain ◽

Core Antigen ◽

West Nile

In this study, we developed a hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg)-based virus-like particle (VLP) that displays the West Nile virus (WNV) Envelope protein domain III (wDIII) as a vaccine candidate for WNV. The HBcAg-wDIII fusion protein was quickly produced in Nicotiana benthamiana plants and reached a high expression level of approximately 1.2 mg of fusion protein per gram of leaf fresh weight within six days post gene infiltration. Electron microscopy and gradient centrifugation analysis indicated that the introduction of wDIII did not interfere with VLP formation and HBcAg-wDIII successfully assembled into VLPs. HBcAg-wDIII VLPs can be easily purified in large quantities from Nicotiana benthamiana leaves to >95% homogeneity. Further analysis revealed that the wDIII was displayed properly and demonstrated specific binding to an anti-wDIII monoclonal antibody that recognizes a conformational epitope of wDIII. Notably, HBcAg-wDIII VLPs were shown to be highly immunogenic and elicited potent humoral responses in mice with antigen-specific IgG titers equivalent to that of protective wDIII antigens in previous studies. Thus, our wDIII-based VLP vaccine offers an attractive option for developing effective, safe, and low-cost vaccines against WNV.

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