Validation of a rapid and sensitive SARS-CoV-2 screening system developed for pandemic-scale infection surveillance

Without any realistic prospect of comprehensive global vaccine coverage and lasting immunity, control of pandemics such as COVID-19 will require implementation of large scale, rapid identification and isolation of infectious individuals to limit further transmission. Here, we describe an automated, high-throughput testing instrument, designed for population-scale testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA within 25 minutes from inactivated saliva to result, and capable of reporting 3,840 results per hour. This integrated screening platform incorporates continuous flow loading of samples at random intervals to cost-effectively adjust for fluctuations in testing demand. Protecting vulnerable populations during global pandemics requires rapid and sensitive infection surveillance of asymptomatic carriers. This Sentinel surveillance system offers a feasible and scalable approach to complement vaccination, to curb the spread of COVID-19 variants and future pandemics to save lives.

A Simple Brushless Motor and Propeller Test Stand for Experiment from Home

A brushless motor and propeller test stand is used to test brushless motors and propellers. This testing instrument is still only available in research laboratories. Students and researchers are unable to use laboratory facilities because of the Covid-19 epidemic, thus students must be able to do tests independently from home. Purchasing this testing instrument would be too expensive for students. It is essential to construct a brushless motor and propeller testing instrument at home using simple components that are easy to get on the marketplace. The design concept reads force data using a loadcell sensor and an HX711 driver, and current and voltage data with an INA 219 sensor. The brushless motor’s rotational speed is controlled by a potentiometer. Force, current, voltage, and power are all examples of test results data. A 16×2 LCD is used to show data immediately. Data is also transmitted via a USB connection to a computer device for storage or additional analysis. This study proposes a simple brushless motor and propeller test stand that can measure forces from 0 gf to 1000 gf with an error rate of 0.72 %. The power that can be read ranges from 0 mW to 18960 mW, with a 0.59 % error rate.

Experimental Investigation of Aluminium Hybrid Composites Reinforced with ZnS, TiO2 and BaTiO3 Produced Through Powder Metallurgy

Semiconductors like ZnS, TiO2 and BaTiO3 were reinforced with Al-Al2O3 Metal Matrix Composites (MMCs) and were made through powder metallurgy in order to have high strength, high hardness and good thermal conductivity compared with conventional materials. Three MMC of test specimens were prepared with varying reinforcement ratio Al-Al2O3-ZnS(94-5-1), Al-Al2O3-TiO2(94-5-1), Al-Al2O3-BaTiO3(94-5-1) percentage by weight respectively. The hardness test has been made by using Brinell hardness testing instrument. Hardness test revealed that the addition of reinforcement TiO2, BaTiO3 increases the hardness value. However, the addition of ZnS to the Al-Al2O3 MMCs showed decrease in the hardness value. The crystal structure of the 3 composites were examined through X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) peaks.

Conductive Heat Transfer Prediction of Plain Socks in Wet State

In this study, an algebraic model and its experimental verification was carried out to investigate the effect of moisture content on the heat loss that takes place due to conduction of sock fabrics. The results show that increasing moisture content in the studied socks caused a significant increase in their conductive heat loss. Plain knitted socks with different fiber composition were wetted to a saturated level, and then their moisture content was reduced stepwise. When achieving the required moisture content, the socks samples were characterized by the Alambeta testing instrument for heat transfer. Three different existing modified mathematical models for the thermal conductivity of wet fabrics were used for predicting thermal resistance of socks under wet conditions. The results from both ways are in very good agreement for all the socks at a 95% confidence level. In the above-mentioned models, the prediction of thermal resistance presents newly a combined effect of the real filling coefficient and thermal conductivity of the so-called “wet” polymers instead of dry polymers. With these modifications, the used models predicted the thermal resistance at different moisture levels. Predicted thermal resistance is converted into heat transfer (due to conduction) with a significantly high coefficient of correlation.

Interplay of Organizational Justice with Teachers Academic Performance at Higher Secondary School Level

Organizational conduct requires an understanding of justice. Justice has received ample attention from researchers from various disciplines, including economics, psychology, law, and corporate life. The study's objectives were to 1) explore the perceptions of teachers about organizational justice and academic performance; 2) ascertain the relationship between organizational justices with teachers' academic performance. The population consisted of teachers who taught students in grades XI-XII, and the survey consisted of 155 teachers. A 30-item questionnaire was used as a testing instrument for data collection. The research found that most administrators rewarded workers for doing their jobs well, the majority of teachers were pleased with the practices they implemented, and their strategies and procedures were fair. On the other hand, teachers' student success is closely related to what they write on their whiteboards. Additionally, it concluded that teachers effectively test student learning. Teachers should do an assessment of their students' academic difficulties for preparing.

Electrochemical Detection and Point-of-Care Testing for Circulating Tumor Cells: Current Techniques and Future Potentials

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are tumor cells that escaped from the primary tumor or the metastasis into the blood and they play a major role in the initiation of metastasis and tumor recurrence. Thus, it is widely accepted that CTC is the main target of liquid biopsy. In the past few decades, the separation of CTC based on the electrochemical method has attracted widespread attention due to its convenience, rapidness, low cost, high sensitivity, and no need for complex instruments and equipment. At present, CTC detection is not widely used in the clinic due to various reasons. Point-of-care CTC detection provides us with a possibility, which is sensitive, fast, cheap, and easy to operate. More importantly, the testing instrument is small and portable, and the testing does not require specialized laboratories and specialized clinical examiners. In this review, we summarized the latest developments in the electrochemical-based CTC detection and point-of-care CTC detection, and discussed the challenges and possible trends.