High Sensitivity Research Articles

Neuropathologic Validation and Diagnostic Accuracy of Presynaptic Dopaminergic Imaging in the Diagnosis of Parkinsonism.

Degeneration of the presynaptic nigrostriatal dopaminergic system is one of the main biological features of Parkinson disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and corticobasal degeneration (CBD), which can be measured using single-photon emission CT imaging for diagnostic purposes. Despite its widespread use in clinical practice and research, the diagnostic properties of presynaptic nigrostriatal dopaminergic (DAT) imaging in parkinsonism have never been evaluated against the diagnostic gold standard of neuropathology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic parameters of DAT imaging compared with pathologic diagnosis in patients with parkinsonism. Retrospective cohort study of patients with DAT imaging for the investigation of a clinically uncertain parkinsonism with brain donation between 2010 and 2021 to the Queen Square Brain Bank (London). Patients with DAT imaging for investigation of pure ataxia or dementia syndromes without parkinsonism were excluded. Those with a pathologic diagnosis of PD, MSA, PSP, or CBD were considered presynaptic dopaminergic parkinsonism, and other pathologies were considered postsynaptic for the analysis. DAT imaging was performed in routine clinical practice and visually classified by hospital nuclear medicine specialists as normal or abnormal. The results were correlated with neuropathologic diagnosis to calculate diagnostic accuracy parameters for the diagnosis of presynaptic dopaminergic parkinsonism. All of 47 patients with PD, 41 of 42 with MSA, 68 of 73 with PSP, and 6 of 10 with CBD (sensitivity 100%, 97.6%, 93.2%, and 60%, respectively) had abnormal presynaptic dopaminergic imaging. Eight of 17 patients with presumed postsynaptic parkinsonism had abnormal scans (specificity 52.9%). DAT imaging has very high sensitivity and negative predictive value for the diagnosis of presynaptic dopaminergic parkinsonism, particularly for PD. However, patients with CBD, and to a lesser extent PSP (of various phenotypes) and MSA (with predominant ataxia), can show normal DAT imaging. A range of other neurodegenerative disorders may have abnormal DAT scans with low specificity in the differential diagnosis of parkinsonism. DAT imaging is a useful diagnostic tool in the differential diagnosis of parkinsonism, although clinicians should be aware of its diagnostic properties and limitations. This study provides Class II evidence that DAT imaging does not accurately distinguish between presynaptic dopaminergic parkinsonism and non-presynaptic dopaminergic parkinsonism.

Detection of miR-203 expression using a nanofluorescent probe to study the neuroprotective effect of sevoflurane in a neuroinflammatory injury rat model

Ischemic cerebrovascular disease has high disability and mortality rates that can result in related sequelae if not treated promptly and properly. Nanofluorescent probes are useful in the early diagnosis of the disease due to their high sensitivity and specificity, thus facilitating early therapeutic measures and observation of disease progression. Here, a novel nanostructure probe was designed to detect the expression of miR-203 in a cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) model after sevoflurane treatment, and the effects of sevoflurane and neuroinflammatory injury were discussed. A CIRI rat model was established to study miR-203 expression, nerve injury, oxidative stress, and inflammatory factors in the brain tissue of rats treated with sevoflurane. The nanofluorescent probe showed high specificity and sensitivity for miR-203 detection. miR-203 was over-expressed in CIRI rats, which was decreased by sevoflurane treatment. In addition, sevoflurane treatment significantly improved neurological function, learning, and memory in CIRI rats; decreased malondialdehyde, lactate dehydrogenase, and superoxide dismutase levels; and inhibited the expression of tumor necrosis factor α and interleukins 1 and 6. Moreover, an inverse correlation was determined between miR-203 expression and the degree of neuroinflammation. This study demonstrated that miR-203 may be a useful diagnostic and prognostic index for neuroinflammatory injury.

Handheld echocardiography for the screening and diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease: a systematic review to inform WHO guidelines

Early detection and diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are key to preventing progression, and echocardiography has an important diagnostic role. Standard echocardiography might not be feasible in high-prevalence regions due to its high cost, complexity, and time requirement. Handheld echocardiography might be an easy-to-use, low-cost alternative, but its performance in screening for and diagnosing acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease needs further investigation. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched Embase, MEDLINE, LILACS, and Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science up to Feb 9, 2024, for studies on the screening and diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease using handheld echocardiography (index test) or standard echocardiography or auscultation (reference tests) in high-prevalence areas. We included all studies with useable data in which the diagnostic performance of the index test was assessed against a reference test. Data on test accuracy in diagnosing rheumatic heart disease, acute rheumatic fever, or carditis with acute rheumatic fever (primary outcomes) were extracted from published articles or calculated, with authors contacted as necessary. Quality of evidence was appraised using GRADE and QUADAS-2 criteria. We summarised diagnostic accuracy statistics (including sensitivity and specificity) and estimated 95% CIs using a bivariate random-effects model (or univariate random-effects models for analyses including three or fewer studies). Area under the curve (AUC) was calculated from summary receiver operating characteristic curves. Heterogeneity was assessed by visual inspection of plots. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022344081). Out of 4868 records we identified 11 studies, and two additional reports, comprising 15 578 unique participants. Pooled data showed that handheld echocardiography had high sensitivity (0·87 [95% CI 0·76-0·93]), specificity (0·98 [0·71-1·00]), and overall high accuracy (AUC 0·94 [0·84-1·00]) for diagnosing rheumatic heart disease when compared with standard echocardiography (two studies; moderate certainty of evidence), with better performance for diagnosing definite compared with borderline rheumatic heart disease. High sensitivity (0·79 [0·73-0·84]), specificity (0·85 [0·80-0·89]), and overall accuracy (AUC 0·90 [0·85-0·94]) for screening rheumatic heart disease was observed when pooling data of handheld echocardiography versus standard echocardiography (seven studies; high certainty of evidence). Most studies had a low risk of bias overall. Some heterogeneity was observed for sensitivity and specificity across studies, possibly driven by differences in the prevalence and severity of rheumatic heart disease, and level of training or expertise of non-expert operators. Handheld echocardiography has a high accuracy and diagnostic performance when compared with standard echocardiography for diagnosing and screening of rheumatic heart disease in high-prevalence areas. World Health Organization. For the Chinese, French, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Spanish and Urdu translations of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Ultrasensitive prostate cancer marker PCA3 detection with impedimetric biosensor based on specific label-free aptamers

Prostate cancer (PCa) appears among the most frequently diagnosed types of malignancies in males. Because of the high demand and increasing detection rate of early PCa, alongside the specificity limitations of the gold standard clinical tools available for the diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer, there is an urgent need for more reliable PCa markers and highly sensitive diagnostic tools to avoid under-treatment and over-diagnosis. PCA3, or prostate cancer antigen 3, is a potential prostate cancer biomarker that is more specific and useful for preventing unnecessary repeat biopsies, particularly in men with persistently high prostate-specific antigen indices after a negative biopsy. Additionally, an electrochemically based biosensor would prove to be a powerful diagnostic tool for PCA3 detection in urine because of its simplicity, sensitivity, and cost-effectiveness, in contrast to the more traditional PCa diagnostics that depend on blood testing. This paper aimed to design a novel and simple electrochemical impedimetric biosensor based on a label-free RNA-aptamer (CG3-PCA3) as the molecular recognition element for detecting PCA3. The proposed aptasensor for the detection of PCA3 has been developed using a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) modified by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), further improving sensitivity and allowing the immobilisation of thiolate aptamers on its surface. The findings presented here demonstrated a high sensitivity to PCA3, with a detection limit of 20 fM in artificial urine and 1 fM in buffer. These results indicate that the PCA3 aptasensor could be a promising tool for routine PCa diagnosis due to its high sensitivity and cost-effectiveness.

Ag Nanoparticles Modified Sea Urchin-like W18O49 Microstructures for Sensitive Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Detection

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has gained significant attention in various fields, including biomedical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and food safety. This technique offers many advantages such as label-free detection and the ability to detect analytes at low concentrations. In this study, we present a variety of tungsten oxide (W18O49) microstructures as solid SERS substrates using various solvents realized by a simple hydrothermal approach. Among them, the well-defined sea urchin-like W18O49 microstructures support greater light scattering and confinement to enhance the SERS signal when compared to other W18O49 structures. The surface of well-defined sea urchin-like W18O49 microstructures was then modified with uniformly distributed silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The combination of the unique morphology of the Ag and sea urchin-like W18O49 microstructures (W18O49@Ag) led to improved detection capabilities for analytes such as rhodamine 6G (R6G) and thiram molecules. The SERS enhancement factor (EF) of sea urchin-like W18O49@Ag microstructures was estimated to be as high as 1.53×106 with the lowest detectable concentrations of 1nM and 1μM for R6G and thiram, respectively. Thus, the well-defined sea urchin-like W18O49@Ag microstructures are excellent choice to replace the pure noble metal SERS substrates in the fields of rapid detection and trace analysis due to their high sensitivity, repeatability, and long-term stability.

A Novel Proposal of an Electro-Optical Sensor to Measure Various Levels of an Electric Field Using Pockels Effect Photonic Crystals

Electro-optic sensors based on the Pockels effect are key components for optical instrumentation due to their speed and accuracy. In this work, we propose a new electro-optic platform using two-dimensional photonic crystals of gallium arsenide and barium titanate (GaAs-BTO). This structure allows for the measurement of various electric field levels, from 0 kV/mm to 50 kV/mm, with a very high sensitivity and a compact size. The opto-geometric parameters of this sensor were chosen, optimized, and analyzed numerically using the Plane Wave Expansion (PWE) and Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) methods.

Investigations of high-Performance Ultrasonic Transducers based on PMN-PT Single Crystals

Ultrasonic transducers for NDE applications are commonly based on Lead Zirconate Titanate or PZT, an inorganic compound and ceramic perovskite material. Until now the advantages of PMN-PT are used in medical applications, but are not implemented in NDE. Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate (PMN-PT) is well known for its high sensitivity and broad frequency spectrum. While conventional PZT materials have an electromechanical coupling factor K33 (a measure of the conversion between electrical and acoustic energy) of about 0.72, PMN-PT materials reach peak values of more than 0.93. For applications with low signal amplitudes, high electronic noise and small transducer elements, the performance of ultrasonic probes can be significantly enhanced by using Lead Magnesium Niobate-Lead Titanate (PMN-PT) instead of PZT. This single-crystal material offers significantly better piezo parameters and leads to a higher sensitivity and larger bandwidth. There is a better depth resolution possible with this transducers as practical tests have shown. Similar to PZT it can also be fabricated in 1-3 piezo- composite technology. In a cooperation between Fraunhofer IKTS, iBULe Photonics, and IFU Diagnostic Systems, PMN-PT ultrasonic transducers are developed and optimized. The performance of phased array probes and single element transducers was measured by a so called PCUS® pro electronic front end from Fraunhofer and compared with equivalent PZT-based probes. As a result various single element and phased array transducers with im-proved performances are available for NDT of typical aerospace materials and applications. These test setups were used to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages, such as achievable precision or costs, for the implementation of a PMN-PT-based UT matrix probe. Based on this, a wiring variant adapted to the PMN-PT was developed and optimised for the matrix setups by pre- assembling the matching layers. The most favourable setup turned out to be bonding the PMN- PT composites to the prefabricated matching layers together with a rigid-flexible PCB frame. This enabled direct wire bonding of 64 matrix elements to the matching PCB pads on the rigid frame.

Plasmon AgNPs/MoS2/ZnO nanorods array ternary heterojunctions enabling high-efficiency solar-light energy utilization for photocatalysis and recyclable SERS detection

BackgroundSurface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has gained widespread use in molecule-level detection benefiting from its high sensitivity, nondestructive data acquisition, and capacity for providing molecular fingerprint information. However, the strong adhesion of target molecules to the substrate (known as the "memory effect") inherently hinders the reusability of SERS substrates. Research has shown that self-cleaning SERS substrates based on versatile semiconductor materials with SERS enhancement capabilities and solar photocatalytic properties offer an effective platform for the sensitive detection and degradation of harmful molecules. ResultsIn this research, a resuable SERS-active substrate was facilely fabricated by anchoring silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to the edges of MoS2 nanosheet decorated on ZnO nanorod arrays (NRAs). This innovative design exhibited a remarkable SERS enhancement factor (EF) of 4.6 × 107 and demonstrated significant solar photocatalytic efficiency. Such superior characteristics of ternary plasma heterojunction were ascribable to the synergistic effect of the “Schottky barrier” and “hot spots” between MoS2 and AgNPs, the inherent chemical enhancement proficiency of the MoS2/ZnO NRAs heterojunction, as well as the ultrafast electron transfer within the ternary heterojunction. SignificanceThe developed ternary heterojunction substrate enabled highly sensitive SERS detection of trace amounts of organic molecules. Moreover, this SERS substrate exhibited self-cleaning and recyclability via solar-light-driven photocatalysis. This bifunctional recyclable SERS substrate proved capable of meeting various requirements for routine monitoring of environmental organic pollutants and provided a robust avenue for advancing energy utilization materials that serve as high-performance SERS sensors and catalysts.

A facile and efficient voltammetric sensor for marbofloxacin detection based on zirconium-based metal-organic framework UiO-66/nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposite

Improper and persistent use of marbofloxacin (MAR) is prone to produce residues that deteriorate the surrounding environment and endanger our health. Hence, it is urgent to stablish a facile and efficient detection technique for the detection of MAR. Herein, a highly efficient electrochemical platform was constructed for sensitive determination of MAR using zirconium-based metal–organic framework (UiO-66)/nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) nanocomposites (UiO-66/NG). The surface morphology, crystalline phase elemental composition, and electrochemical behavior of UiO-66/NG were characterized by various spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. Owing to the synergistic interaction of UiO-66 MOFs and NG nanosheets, the UiO-66/NG exhibited remarkable catalytic activity for MAR oxidation. As consequently, the UiO-66/NG demonstrated a wide linear response range (0.01 − 10 μM), high sensitivity (1.80 μM μA−1 cm−2) and low detection limit (0.002 μM). The proposed UiO-66/NG/GCE demonstrated robust voltammetric responses even in the presence of excess potential interfering species and retained stable response signals for at least two weeks. More importantly, the proposed UiO-66/NG/GCE displayed highly consistent sensitivity toward MAR detection in both aquaculture water matrices and PBS buffer, and achieved accurate and sensitive detection of MAR with good recovery. Together with its low cost and facile operation, the UiO-66/NG/GCE shows great prospects for trace detection of MAR from complex matrices.

Enhanced convolutional neural network enabled optimized diagnostic model for COVID-19 detection

Computed tomography (CT) films are used to construct cross-sectional pictures of a particular region of the body by using many x-ray readings that were obtained at various angles. There is a general agreement in the medical community at this time that chest CT is the most accurate approach for identifying COVID-19 disease. It was demonstrated that chest CT had a higher sensitivity than reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the detection of COVID-19 illness. This article presents gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture feature extraction and convolutional neural network (CNN)-enabled optimized diagnostic model for COVID-19 detection. In this diagnostic model, CT scan images of patients are given as input. Firstly, GLCM algorithm is used to extract texture features from the CT scan images. This feature extraction helps in achieving higher classification accuracy. Classification is performed using CNN. It achieves higher accuracy than the k-nearest neighbors (KNN) algorithm and multi-layer preceptor (MLP). The accuracy of GLCM based CNN is 99%, F1 score is 99% and the recall rate is also 98%. CNN has achieved better results than MLP and KNN algorithms for COVID-19 detection.

Dose optimization in newborn abdominal radiography: Assessing the added value of additional filtration on radiation dose and image quality using an anthropomorphic phantom

BackgroundAbdominal radiographs remain useful in newborns. Given the high radiation sensitivity of this population, it is necessary to optimize acquisition techniques to minimize radiation exposure. ObjectiveEvaluate the effects of three additional filtrations on radiation dose and image quality in abdominal X-rays of newborns using an anthropomorphic phantom. Material and methodAbdominal radiographs of an anthropomorphic newborn phantom were performed using acquisition parameters ranging from 55 to 70 kV and from 0.4 to 2.5 mAs, without and with three different additional filtrations: 0.1 mm copper (Cu) + 1 mm aluminum (Al), 0.2 mm copper + 1 mm aluminum, and 2 mm aluminum. For each X-ray the dose area product (DAP) was measured, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was calculated, and image quality (IQ) was evaluated by two blinded radiologists using the absolute visual grading analysis (VGA) method. ResultsAdding an additional filtration resulted in a significant reduction in DAP, with a decrease of 42% using 2 mm Al filtration, 65% with 0.1 mm Cu + 1 mm Al filtration, and 78% with 0.2 mm Cu + 1 mm Al filtration (p < 0.01). The addition of 2 mm aluminum filtration does not significantly decrease the SNR (p = 0.31), CNR (p = 0.52) or the IQ (p = 0.12 and 0.401 for reader 1 and 2, respectively). However, adding copper-containing filtration leads to a significant decrease in, SNR, CNR and IQ. ConclusionAdding a 2 mm Al additional filtration for abdominal radiographs in newborns can significantly reduce the radiation dose without causing a significant decrease in image quality.

Molecularly imprinted ratiometric electrochemical sensor based on 3D-1D MoS2@CNTs hetero-nanoflower for selective detection of trimethoprim

Trimethoprim (TMP) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is frequently found residue in the environment and food. An innovative electrochemical sensor was proposed for the detection of trimethoprim with high selectivity, sensitivity and reproducibility through the integration of the flower-like MoS2@CNTs heterostructure as substrate, molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) technology as recognition, and the ratiometric strategy between trimethoprim and ferrocene (Fc) for quantitative. The recognition reaction of TMP by MIP-MoS2@CNTs sensor was assumed as an irreversible electrochemical oxidation reaction controlled by a combination of adsorption-diffusion process with two electrons and protons. With the incorporation of Fc during detection, a satisfying linear relationship of ITMP/IFc and the concentration of TMP was achieved, indicating a detection concentration ranging from 50 to 3000 nmol·L−1 with a detection limit of 27.01 nmol·L−1. In addition, the MoS2@CNTs MIP ratiometric sensor exhibited good stability for 20 days and excellent reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 1.06 %, which was lower than 3.89 % of single signal. The practical feasibility of the sensor was detected in water samples with recovery rates of 98.62 ∼ 107.47 % and fish samples with recovery rates of 98.93 ∼ 105.45 %. Overall, the developed MIP ratiometric sensor provides a versatile system with easy operation and great potential for detecting small hazardous molecules in the environment and food products.

Hybrid optimal feature selection approach for internet of things based medical data analysis for prognosis

&lt;p&gt;Healthcare is very important application domain in internet of things (IoT). The aim is to provide a novel combined feature selection (FS) methods like univariate (UV) with tree-based methods (TB), recursive feature elimination (RFE) with least absolute shrinkage selection operator (LASSO), mutual information (MI) with genetic algorithm (GA) and embedded methods (EM) with univariate has been applied to internet of medical things (IoMT)based heart disease dataset. The well-suited machine learning algorithms for IoT medical data are logistic regression (LR) and support vector machine (SVM). Each combined method has been applied to the machine learning algorithms to find the best classifier for prognosis. The various performance metrices has been calculated for all the combined feature selection methods for logistic regression and support vector machine and found that for precise classification could be done using recursive elimination feature selection method with LASSO applied to logistic regression achieved a better performance than all other combined methods with high accuracy, sensitivity and high area under curve. Decision has been taken by data analytics that RFE+LASSO using LR feature selection method will provide an overall better performance for IoT based medical heart disease dataset after comparing all other combined methods with LR and SVM classifiers&lt;em&gt;. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

High Sensitivity Fiber Bragg Grating Humidity Sensors Made With Through-the-Coating Femtosecond Laser Writing and Polyimide Coating Thickening

High Sensitivity Fiber Bragg Grating Humidity Sensors Made With Through-the-Coating Femtosecond Laser Writing and Polyimide Coating Thickening

A novel dynamic simulation method for investigating the hygroscopicity of Ammonium perchlorate

Ammonium perchlorate (AP) is a widely used oxidizer, extensively employed in solid propellants with excellent combustion properties. Ultrafine AP has better combustion properties, but its strong hygroscopicity and high sensitivity hinder its application. To safely and efficiently explore the hygroscopicity of ultrafine AP, this paper proposes a novel molecular dynamics (MD) simulation approach. By analyzing the movement of water molecules, fluctuations in average hydrogen bond strength, and the influence of non-covalent intermolecular forces throughout the moisture absorption process, this study presents a comprehensive overview of the hygroscopic properties of ultrafine AP across relative humidity (RH) levels spanning from 10 % to 100 %, and temperatures ranging between 273 K and 373 K. It was found that temperature has a more significant impact on the hygroscopicity of AP compared to RH. During the hygroscopic process of AP, Van der Waals interactions hindered the water absorption of AP, while electrostatic forces promoted its hygroscopic properties. The hygroscopicity of AP reached a maximum when the temperature exceeded 333 K, and plateaued as the increase of RH. The proposed moisture simulation method facilitates the secure and effective forecasting of moisture absorption in AP-based materials across various temperature and RH environments, thereby greatly expediting research on enhancing the moisture resistance of ultrafine AP.

Yersinia ruckeri Infection and Enteric Redmouth Disease among Endangered Chinese Sturgeons, China, 2022.

During October 2022, enteric redmouth disease (ERM) affected Chinese sturgeons at a farm in Hubei, China, causing mass mortality. Affected fish exhibited characteristic red mouth and intestinal inflammation. Investigation led to isolation of a prominent bacterial strain, zhx1, from the internal organs and intestines of affected fish. Artificial infection experiments confirmed the role of zhx1 as the pathogen responsible for the deaths. The primary pathologic manifestations consisted of degeneration, necrosis, and inflammatory reactions, resulting in multiple organ dysfunction and death. Whole-genome sequencing of the bacteria identified zhx1 as Yersinia ruckeri, which possesses 135 drug-resistance genes and 443 virulence factor-related genes. Drug-susceptibility testing of zhx1 demonstrated high sensitivity to chloramphenicol and florfenicol but varying degrees of resistance to 18 other antimicrobial drugs. Identifying the pathogenic bacteria associated with ERM in Chinese sturgeons establishes a theoretical foundation for the effective prevention and control of this disease.

In situ detection of miR-93/VEGFR2 by nanosensor and inhibition of trophoblast apoptosis

We investigated the pathogenesis of recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) and evaluated the therapeutic effect of Pill Nourishing Kidney and Fetus (PNKF). A sensitive DNA sensor was used to detect miR-93 expression and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2). We testing the penetration capacity and physicochemical properties of the DNA sensor and found that the sensor had higher penetration and good stability and effectively detected miR-93 and VEGFR2 at different reaction temperatures and mediums with similar fluorescence signals. The sensor detected higher miR-93 expression, increased apoptosis, and negative regulation of VEGFR2 in patients with RSA. Treatment with PNKF of cultured trophoblast cells collected from patients with RSA were treated with PNKF significantly inhibited trophoblast cell apoptosis and promoted trophoblast cell proliferation by reducing miR-93 expression and promoting VEGFR2 expression. In conclusion, PNKF can improve the proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of trophoblast cells by suppressing miR-93 and promoting VEGFR2. Furthermore, the miR-93/VEGFR2 sensor demonstrated high sensitivity that has potential applications in clinical practice.

Non-obese lipedema patients show a distinctly altered quantitative sensory testing profile with high diagnostic potential.

Lipedema is a widespread severe chronic disease affecting mostly women. Characterized by painful bilateral fat accumulation in extremities sparing hands and feet, objective measurement-based diagnosis is currently missing. We tested for characteristic psychometric and/or sensory alterations including pain and for their potential for medical routine diagnosis. Pain psychometry was assessed using the German Pain Questionnaire. Sensory sensitivity toward painful and nonpainful stimuli was characterized in non-obese lipedema patients and matched controls using the validated quantitative sensory testing (QST) protocol of the German Research Network on Neuropathic Pain. Lipedema patients showed no overt psychometric abnormalities. Pain was reported as somatic rather than psychosomatic aversive. All QST measurements were normal, but the z-score of pressure pain thresholds (PPT) was twofold reduced and the z-score of vibration detection thresholds (VDT) was two and a half times increased. Both thresholds were selectively altered at the affected thigh but not the unaffected hand. Receiver operating characteristic analysis of the combination of PPT and VDT of thigh vs hand into a PVTH score (PPT, VDT, thigh, hand-score) shows high sensitivity and specificity, categorizing correctly 95.8% of the participants as lipedema patients or healthy controls. Bayesian inference analysis corroborated the diagnostic potential of such a combined PVTH score. We propose to assess PPT and VDT at the painful thigh and the pain-free hand. Combination in a PVTH score may allow a convenient lipedema diagnosis early during disease development.

Automated 3D convolutional neural network architecture design using genetic algorithm for pulmonary nodule classification

Cancer of the lungs is considered one of the primary causes of death among patients globally. Early detection contributes significantly to the success of pulmonary cancer treatment. To aid the pulmonary nodule classification, many models for the analysis of medical image utilizing deep learning have been developed. Convolutional neural network (CNN) recently, has attained remarkable results in various image classification tasks. Nevertheless, the CNNs performance is heavily dependent on their architectures which still heavily reliant on human domain knowledge. This study introduces a cutting-edge approach that leverages genetic algorithms (GAs) to automatically design 3D CNN architectures for differentiation between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. The suggested algorithm utilizes the dataset of lung nodule analysis 2016 (LUNA16) for evaluation. Notably, our approach achieved exceptional model accuracy, with evaluations on the testing dataset yielding up to 95.977%. Furthermore, the algorithm exhibited high sensitivity, showcasing its robust performance in distinguishing between benign and malignant nodules. Our findings demonstrate the outstanding capabilities of the proposed algorithm and show an outstanding performance and attain a state of art solution in lung nodule classification.

Cerium dioxide-based nanostructures as signal nanolabels for current detection in the immunosensing determination of salivary myeloperoxidase

This work reports the first electrochemical immunoplatform involving the use of synthesized cerium dioxide nanoparticles (CeO2NPs) / multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composites as signal nanolabels for the determination of salivary myeloperoxidase (MPO), one of the proteins suggested as diagnostic biomarkers of periodontitis. The immunosensing device profits the benefits of CeO2NPs in terms of fast electron transfer and the catalytic activity and prevents the CeO2NPs tendency to agglomerate by decoration over MWCNTs, also providing high sensitivity. After a thorough characterization of the CeO2NPs/MWCNTs using various techniques and optimization of the variables involved in the preparation of the immunoplatform, a sandwich-type immunoassay was implemented with specific MPO capture and biotinylated detection antibodies. The use of horseradish peroxidase-streptavidin (HRP-Strept) or CeO2NPs/MWCNTs-(HRP-Strept) as labels for the amperometric detection at screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) at −0.20 V vs. Ag pseudo-reference electrode using the H2O2/hydroquinone (HQ) system, was compared. The method developed involving CeO2NPs/MWCNTs-(HRP-Strept) provided a linear calibration plot for MPO over the 1.0 to 100.0 ng mL−1 (R2 = 0.994) range with a limit of detection value of 0.40 ng mL−1. The immunoplatform was applied to the analysis of saliva from volunteers showing that the method allowed discrimination between healthy individuals and patients diagnosed with periodontitis through the determination of MPO in 1000-times diluted saliva. The obtained results agreed with those provided by an ELISA kit, this latter requiring a much longer assay time (4 h vs 2 h).