Evaluation of the Effect of Hamao Detention Pond on Excess Runoff from the Abukuma River in 2019 and Simple Remodeling of the Pond to Increase Its Flood Control Function

Due to the recent increase in the intensity of rainstorms, the Japanese government has announced a new policy of flexible flood mitigation measures that presupposes the release of water volumes exceeding the river channel capacity onto floodplains. However, due to the limited amount of quantitative measurement data on excess runoff, it will take time to formulate planning standards for remodeling and newly constructing flood control facilities reasonable enough under current budgetary constraints. In this study, the capacity shortage of a flood detention pond was evaluated against the excess runoff from a severe 2019 flood event by combining the fragmentary measurement data with a numerical flow simulation. Although the numerical model was a rather simple one commonly used for rough estimation of inundation areas in Japan, the results were overall consistent with the observations. Next, in accordance with the new policy, an inexpensive remodeling of the detention basin, which was designed according to conventional standards, was simulated; the upstream side of the surrounding embankment was removed so that excess water flowed up onto the floodplain gradually. Numerical experiments using the simple model indicated that the proposed remodeling increased the effectiveness of flood control remarkably, even for floods greater than the 2019 flood, without much inundation damage to upstream villages.

Conceptualizing a Quantitative Measurement Suite to Evaluate Healthcare Teams

Background Current team assessment instruments in healthcare tend to involve rater-based evaluations that are susceptible to well-known biases. Recent advances in technology include portable devices to measure team-based activities. Consequently, the possibility exists to move away from rater-based assessments of team function by identifying quantitative measures to replace them. Aim This article aims to provide potential approaches to developing quantitative measurement suites involving large amounts of data to address the challenges of assessment presented by the complex nature of teamwork. Conclusion By addressing construct, measurement, and context components, we provide a practical approach to developing a suite to capture quantitative measurements that, through incorporation of social network analysis and aggregated other values, aligns with the Team Strategies & Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient SafetyTM (TeamSTEPPSTM) dimensions for fostering teamwork.

Performance evaluation of novel fluorescent-based lateral immune flow assay (LIFA) for rapid detection and quantitation of total anti-SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD binding antibodies in infected individuals

1.AbstractBackgroundThe vast majority of the commercially available LFIA is used to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies qualitatively. Recently, a novel fluorescence-based LIFA test was developed for quantitative measurement of the total binding antibody units (BAU/mL) against the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S-RBD).AimTo evaluate the performance of the fluorescence LIFA Finecare™ 2019-nCoV S-RBD test along with its reader (Model No.: FS-113).MethodsPlasma from 150 RT-PCR confirmed-positive individuals and 100 pre-pandemic samples were tested by FinCare™ to access sensitivity and specificity. For qualitative and quantitative validation of the FinCar™ measurements, the BAU/mL results of FinCare™ were compared with results of two reference assays: the surrogate virus-neutralizing test (sVNT, GenScript, USA), and the VIDAS®3 automated assay (BioMérieux, France).ResultsFinecare™ showed 92% sensitivity and 100% specificity compared to PCR. Cohen’s Kappa statistic denoted moderate and excellent agreement with sVNT and VIDAS®3, ranging from 0.557 (95% CI: 0.32-0.78) to 0.731 (95% CI: 0.51-0.95), respectively. A strong correlation was observed between Finecare™/sVNT (r=0.7, p<0.0001) and Finecare™/VIDAS®3 (r=0.8, p<0.0001).ConclusionFinecare™ is a reliable assay and can be used as a surrogate to assess binding and neutralizing antibody response post-infection or vaccination, particularly in none or small laboratory settings.

Validation of a novel fluorescent lateral flow assay for rapid qualitative and quantitative assessment of total anti-SARS-CoV-2 S-RBD binding antibody units (BAU) from plasma or fingerstick whole-blood of COVID-19 vaccinees

Background: Limited commercial LFA assays are available to provide a reliable quantitative measurement of the total binding antibody units (BAU/mL) against the receptor-binding domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S-RBD). Aim: To evaluate the performance of FinecareTM2019-nCoV S-RBD LFA and its fluorescent reader (FinecareTM-FIA Meter) against the following reference methods (i) The FDA-approved Genscript surrogate virus-neutralizing assay (sVNT), and (ii) three highly performing automated immunoassays: BioMerieux VIDAS, Ortho VITROS, and Mindray CL-900i. Methods: Plasma from 488 vaccinees were tested by all aforementioned assays. Fingerstick whole-blood samples from 156 vaccinees were also tested by FinecareTM. Results and conclusions: FinecareTM showed 100% specificity as none of the pre-pandemic samples tested positive. Equivalent FinecareTM results were observed among the samples taken from fingerstick or plasma (Pearson correlation r=0.9, p<0.0001), suggesting that fingerstick samples are sufficient to quantitate the S-RBD BAU/mL. A moderate correlation was observed between FinecareTM and sVNT (r=0.5, p<0.0001), indicating that FinecareTM can be used for rapid prediction of the neutralization antibody post-vaccination. FinecareTM BAU results showed strong correlation with VIDAS (r=0.6, p<0.0001), and moderate correlation with VITROS (r=0.5, p<0.0001), and CL-900 (r=0.4, p<0.0001), suggesting that FinecareTM be used as a surrogate for the advanced automated assays to measure S-RBD BAU/mL.

DW-Net: Dynamic Multi-Hierarchical Weighting Segmentation Network for Joint Segmentation of Retina Layers With Choroid Neovascularization

Choroid neovascularization (CNV) is one of the blinding factors. The early detection and quantitative measurement of CNV are crucial for the establishment of subsequent treatment. Recently, many deep learning-based methods have been proposed for CNV segmentation. However, CNV is difficult to be segmented due to the complex structure of the surrounding retina. In this paper, we propose a novel dynamic multi-hierarchical weighting segmentation network (DW-Net) for the simultaneous segmentation of retinal layers and CNV. Specifically, the proposed network is composed of a residual aggregation encoder path for the selection of informative feature, a multi-hierarchical weighting connection for the fusion of detailed information and abstract information, and a dynamic decoder path. Comprehensive experimental results show that our proposed DW-Net achieves better performance than other state-of-the-art methods.

Multiplexed CRISPR-based microfluidic platform for clinical testing of respiratory viruses and SARS-CoV-2 variants

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated a clear need for high-throughput, multiplexed, and sensitive assays for detecting SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses as well as their emerging variants. Here, we present microfluidic CARMEN (mCARMEN), a cost-effective virus and variant detection platform that combines CRISPR-based diagnostics and microfluidics with a streamlined workflow for clinical use. We developed the mCARMEN respiratory virus panel (RVP) and demonstrated its diagnostic-grade performance on 533 patient specimens in an academic setting and then 166 specimens in a clinical setting. We further developed a panel to distinguish 6 SARS-CoV-2 variant lineages, including Delta and Omicron, and evaluated it on 106 patient specimens, with near-perfect concordance to sequencing-based variant classification. Lastly, we implemented a combined Cas13 and Cas12 approach that enables quantitative measurement of viral copies in samples. mCARMEN enables high-throughput surveillance of multiple viruses and variants simultaneously.

Quantification of nuclear transport inhibition by SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 using a broadly applicable live-cell dose-response pipeline

SARS coronavirus ORF6 inhibits the classical nuclear import pathway to antagonize host antiviral responses. Several models were proposed to explain its inhibitory function, but quantitative measurement is needed for model evaluation and refinement. We report a broadly applicable live-cell method for calibrated dose-response characterization of the nuclear transport alteration by a protein of interest. Using this method, we found that SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 is ~5 times more potent than SARS-CoV-1 ORF6 in inhibiting bidirectional nuclear transport, due to differences in the NUP98-binding C-terminal region that is required for the inhibition. The N-terminal region was also required, but its membrane binding function was dispensable, since loss of the inhibitory function due to N-terminal truncation was rescued by forced oligomerization using a soluble construct. Based on these data, we propose that the hydrophobic N-terminal region drives oligomerization of ORF6 to multivalently cross-link the FG domains of NUP98 at the nuclear pore complex.