Low-cost Test Research Articles

Damage Identification of Simply Supported Bridges Using Static Responses: Unified Framework and Feasibility Study

Simply supported bridges are the main bridge types in many transportation systems, and their damage can significantly reduce their load-carrying capacity. To detect possible damage, the time history and spatial distribution of the static responses of bridges (deflection, rotation, and strain influence lines/deformation curves) have recently been proposed as important indicators due to their good local damage detection ability and low testing cost. This paper attempts to establish connections between different static curve-based damage indicators through the various forms of Maxwell-Betti’s law. Damage indicators related to seven static curves are then rewritten as a unified framework. The framework states that all these static curves are directly related to the flexural stiffness distribution of the main girder for the simply supported bridge. Then, the theoretical formulations for the difference between the static curves of bridges in intact and damaged states are derived, and the response difference surfaces (RDSs) are plotted to visualize the sensitivity of different static curves to damage. Sensor placement suggestions for stiffness degradation evaluation are presented based on the damage sensitivity analysis at the end of this paper. The results of this study provide comprehensive theoretical support for static response-based damage identification of simply supported bridges.

Colorimetric detection of aflatoxins B1 and M1 using aptamers and gold and silver nanoparticles

Mycotoxins are small molecules produced by fungi that contaminate crops and cause notable health effects for humans, owing to their inherent toxicity. Aflatoxins are among the most potent mycotoxins, with aflatoxin B1 and M1 being the most concerning. Due to their negative impact on human health and agro-economics, developing cost-effective, rapid, highly sensitive and specific detection tools is urgently needed. Nucleic acid–based synthetic receptors, aptamers, have been successfully selected for aflatoxin with high binding affinity and selectivity, and have been incorporated into a wide array of sensor platforms. By exploiting the optical properties of metallic nanoparticles, aptasensors have been developed to achieve low-cost, rapid, and sensitive tests to detect contaminated foods. Herein, we describe the use of functional nucleic acids, specifically DNA aptamers with metallic nanoparticles such as gold and silver for detecting aflatoxin B1 and M1. This review highlights various aptamer-nanoparticle assay types designed for colorimetric aflatoxin detection (i.e., solution and paper-based) along with their associated detection limits, as well as their strengths and areas for further development.

Ce(IV)-coordinated organogel-based assay for on-site monitoring of propyl gallate with turn-on fluorescence signal

Propyl gallate (PG) is a commonly used synthetic phenolic antioxidant in foodstuffs and industrial products. Due to the potential health risk of PG, rapid and on-site detection in food and environment samples are important to guarantee human health. Herein, we demonstrated rapid monitoring of PG by a fluorescence turn-on strategy based on a specific fluorogenic reaction between PG and polyethyleneimine (PEI). Specifically, Ce4+ with oxidase-mimicking activity oxidized PG to its oxides, which then reacted with PEI through the Michael addition to generate the fluorescent compound. The proposed fluorogenic reaction had good specificity for PG, which could distinguish PG from other phenolic antioxidants and interferences. Furthermore, portable and low-cost organogel test kits were prepared using poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate for quantitative and on-site detection of PG via a smartphone-based sensing platform. The organogel-based assay detection limit was 1.0 μg mL–1 with recoveries ranging from 80.2% to 106.2% in edible oils and surface water. Suitability of the developed assay was also validated by high-performance liquid chromatography. Our study provides an effective fluorescent approach to rapid, specific, and convenient monitoring of PG, which is useful for diminishing the risk of PG exposure.

Development of a low-cost non-destructive test system for measurement of elastic modulus

Conventional measurement processes to determine elastic modulus of samples such as tensile or flexural test and bending test are typically unidirectional and destructive in nature for the measured samples. The industrial grade and commercially available Non-Destructive Test (NDT) measurement instrument based on the impulse excitation technique is meanwhile expensive. This project involves designing and developing a low-cost NDT system for the measurement of elastic modulus based on the impulse excitation technique. Secondly, it is to compare the performance of the measurement system with the tensile test. The performance of the NDT prototype will be put to test by using different type of specimens such as aluminium alloy, copper, brass, and carbon steel. Each type of specimen will carry be tested three times to get the average of the data. After all the data collection of the NDT measurement system, the tensile test will be carried out. A comparison for the measurement of the elastic modulus will be conducted between the NDT system, tensile test, and theoretical results. The expected outcome for this project is to develop a NDT for the measurement of the elastic modulus. This project also aims to reduce the industrial waste, reduce the cost of the sample test and maintain the accuracy and the performance of the NDT system compared with the tensile test.

1150-P: Improving Early Diagnosis of Presymptomatic Stage 2 Type 1 Diabetes with a Sample-Sparing Assay

Teplizumab was approved by the FDA in Nov 2022 as the first therapeutic to delay progression of type 1 diabetes from pre-symptomatic stage 2 to clinical onset stage 3. Nevertheless, individuals with stage 2 type 1 diabetes do not exist in hospital systems, and more than 85% of them do not have family history. Large scale population testing remains the only effective way of identifying eligible patients for disease interventional drugs. Thus, accurate, accessible and low cost tests are urgently needed to implement such screening programs. To that end, we have conducted a pilot retrospective screening efficacy study with blinded serum specimens from the Diabetes Prevention Trial of Type 1 Diabetes (DPT-1) study from the NIDDK central repository. A total of 97 serum specimen from subjects that either developed T1D within 5 years (i.e. 50 progressors) or had at least 5 years of follow-up (i.e. 47 progressors) were included in the study. A subject was considered high-risk for T1D progression if positive for two or more islet autoantibodies, and vice versa. Under this scheme, the multiplex ADAP assay achieved PPV and NPV of 49% and 92% for 5 years progression risks. The matching radiobinding assay (RBA) had PPV and NPV of 50% and 77% in this cohort. The improved NPV stemmed from 12 progressors tested positive for multiple islet autoantibodies by multiplex ADAP but not by RBA. Notably, 6 out of these 12 subjects tested positive for multiple islet autoantibodies by RBA in subsequent sampling events with a median delay of 2.8 years compared to multiplex ADAP. In summary, the multiplex ADAP assay could be an ideal tool for large scale identification of individuals with stage 2 type 1 diabetes due to its sample-sparing nature (i.e. 4µL serum input), non-radioactiveness, compatibility with widely-available real-time qPCR instruments and favorable risk prediction capability. Disclosure J. Tsai: Stock/Shareholder; Enable Biosciences. Funding National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R44DK124009-01)

Rapid and sensitive detection of miRNA via light scatter-aided emulsion-based isothermal amplification using a custom low-cost device

MicroRNAs are likely to be a next-generation clinical biomarker for many diseases. While gold-standard technologies, e.g., reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), exist for microRNA detection, there is a need for rapid and low-cost testing. Here, an emulsion loop-mediated isothermal amplification (eLAMP) assay was developed for miRNA that compartmentalizes a LAMP reaction and shortens the time-to-detection. The miRNA was a primer to facilitate the overall amplification rate of template DNA. Light scatter intensity decreased when the emulsion droplet got smaller during the ongoing amplification, which was utilized to moitor the amplification non-invasively. A custom low-cost device was designed and fabricated using a computer cooling fan, a Peltier heater, an LED, a photoresistor, and a temperature controller. It allowed more stable vortexing and accurate light scatter detection. Three miRNAs, miR-21, miR-16, and miR-192, were successfully detected using the custom device. Specifically, new template and primer sequences were developed for miR-16 and miR-192. Zeta potential measurements and microscopic observations confirmed emulsion size reduction and amplicon adsorption. The detection limit was 0.01 fM, corresponding to 2.4 copies per reaction, and the detection could be made in 5 min. Since the assays were rapid and both template and miRNA + template could eventually be amplified, we introduced the success rate (compared to the 95% confidence interval of the template result) as a new measure, which worked well with lower concentrations and inefficient amplifications. This assay brings us one step closer to allowing circulating miRNA biomarker detection to become commonplace in the clinical world.

Reliability and validity of the Körperkoordinationstest Für Kinder in Chinese children.

The Körperkoordinationstest Für Kinder (KTK) is a reliable and low-cost motor coordination test tool that has been used in several countries. However, whether the KTK is a reliable and valid instrument for use in Chinese children has not been assessed. Additionally, because the KTK was designed to incorporate locomotor, object control, and stability skills, and there is a lack of measurement tools that include stability skills assessment for Chinese children, the KTK's value and validity are worth discussing. A total of 249 primary school children (131 boys; 118 girls) aged 9-10 years from Shanghai were recruited in this study. Against the Test of Gross Motor Development-3 (TGMD-3), the concurrent validity of the KTK was assessed. We also tested the retest reliability and internal consistency of the KTK. The test-retest reliability of the KTK was excellent (overall: r = 0.951; balancing backwards: r = 0.869; hopping for height: r = 0.918; jumping sideways: r = 0.877; moving sideways: r = 0.647). Except for the boys, the internal consistency of the KTK was higher than the acceptable level of Cronbach's α > 0.60 (overall: α = 0.618; boys: α = 0.583; girls: α = 0.664). Acceptable concurrent validity was found between the total scores for the KTK and TGMD-3 (overall: r = 0.420, p < 0.001; boys: r = 0.411, p < 0.001; girls: r = 0.437, p < 0.001). The KTK is a reliable instrument for assessing the motor coordination of children in China. As such, the KTK can be used to monitor the level of motor coordination in Chinese children.

A Non-destructive Radar Device for Detecting Additive Materials in Concrete

The use of electronic devices based on electromagnetic waves is promising for inspecting additives in structural concrete. However, the existing commercial devices are high-cost and do not publicly provide circuit design information. To overcome this issue, this study designed a low-cost nondestructive testing device with a radar sensor, using an HB-100 radar sensor module to generate and receive the radar wave. A suitable bandpass filter was used to suppress electrical noise in the received signal, an Arduino board was used for signal processing, and the measured data were displayed on a computer. The output at the IF pin of the sensor module presents the Doppler frequency and absorbance of the target materials. The device was tested to detect additives inside the concrete. An additive material can be recognized by the fact that the obtained signal magnitudes are different with different additive materials. The findings in this study can contribute to making a low-cost nondestructive testing device based on radar technology for structural concrete inspection.

Rates of potentially actionable germline variants in homologous recombination repair genes in a large international cohort outside of the United States.

10590 Background: Identification of pathogenic germline variants (PGVs) in homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes among patients (pts) with breast (BC), ovarian (OC), pancreatic (PaC), and prostate cancer (PrC) is critical to determine potential eligibility for targeted therapies such as PARP inhibitors (PARPi). It is important to evaluate the frequency and patterns of PGVs across different regions of the World to help inform the counseling of pts and implementation of precision medicine. Methods: A retrospective analysis of pts with BC, OC, PaC, and/or PrC cancer undergoing GGT through a single laboratory was conducted. The location of the ordering provider determined the assigned region, which included: Asia-Pacific (APAC), Latin America (LATAM), Middle East and African (MEA), and United Kingdom and Europe (UKEU). Analyses were limited to pts tested for PARPi-eligible (in the US) HRR genes and PGV analysis to the 10 most frequent genes for that cancer type. Descriptive statistics and Chi square with Yates correction were utilized. Significance was set at p&lt;0.05. Results: The cohort consisted of 40,539 pts with an average age at testing of 51 years, the majority of whom had BC (81%) (Table). The median number of genes tested ranged from 14-85 (Table). BRCA1 and BRCA2 were the most frequent genes with PGVs (3,358 pts, 8%). LATAM BC pts had significantly higher rates of BRCA1/2 PGVs (10%) than the other 3 regions ( p &lt;0.0007). OC BRCA1/2 rates were high, and statistically similar, across regions (15-17%, p&gt;0.08). Rates of BRCA1/2 and PALB2 in PaC pts did not differ between regions (4-7%, p&gt;0.08), nor did rates of BRCA1/2, CHEK2, ATM, and PALB2 in PrC pts (7-11%, p&gt;0.16) (Table). In sum, 3,434 pts (9% of those tested for the eligible genes) had PGVs in the above PARPi-eligible HRR genes. A notable limitation is that pts were ascertained by cancer type but information on other PARPi eligibility, namely metastatic/advanced disease, was not available. Conclusions: 1 in 12 pts were found to carry PARPi-eligible PGVs across the 4 cancer types and regions analyzed. Knowledge of these PGVs can help inform public health policies, current and future treatment strategies, and identify at-risk family members. In some countries, GGT may represent a more cost-effective and accessible pathway to targeted therapies compared to tumor profiling due to ease of sample collection and lower cost of testing. [Table: see text]

Association between C-reactive protein, neutrophils, lymphocytes, cognition, and functional capacity in an oldest old population

Systemic inflammatory processes can cause changes in cognition and functional capacity in the general population. Currently there are no accessible biomarkers capable of early detection and monitoring of such pathologies, and only few studies involving older than 80 years-old population were done. The C-reactive protein (CRP) and blood counts are low-cost tests that are often performed in routine basis. From the blood counts it is possible to evaluate the absolute count of neutrophils and lymphocytes, which are peripheral blood inflammatory markers. With these results, it is also possible to evaluate the neutrophils to lymphocytes ratio (NLR). Therefore, these tests may be potential biomarkers in the evaluation of the development of dementia, mild cognitive disorder, and functional dependence, with the possibility of assisting in the clinical management and prevention of such pathologies. To evaluate the association between cognition and functional capacity with C-reactive protein, absolute neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and NLR in a population of elderly people aged 80 years and older. Observational analytical cross-sectional study conducted in the cohort of the Longevous Project of the Discipline of Geriatrics and Gerontology of UNIFESP. Complete blood counts (CBC) and CRP were collected from 244 patients included in the study between 2010 and 2013. Gender and the presence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus were also characterized. Associations between the absolute values of neutrophils and lymphocytes and the NLR with cognitive tests (mini mental state examination, MMSE, and clock drawing test, CDT) and with functional capacity (basic activities of daily living, BADL or Katz score, and instrumental activities of daily living, IADL or Lawton score) were performed using nonparametric Mann-Whitney and Kruskall-Wallis statistical tests. We found no associations between the markers obtained by the CBC and the cognitive assessment tests. We also found no association between the CRP and the MMSE. However, we obtained a statistically significant difference between the CRP marker and the CDT, with P = 0.003. There was no statistically significant difference between markers obtained by CBC or CRP with the BADLs. But we observed a statistically significant association between the IADLs and the absolute count of neutrophils and lymphocytes, respectively P = 0.0379 and 0.0190. The presented results contribute to the hypothesis that serum inflammatory biomarkers can be useful in the assessment of health outcomes. We identified that patients with lower functional capacity for IADLs have higher absolute neutrophil and lymphocyte counts when compared to patients with higher functional capacity. In addition, we identified that patients with low performance on CDT have CRP at higher levels when compared to patients with higher cognitive ability. Our results suggest that markers of inflammation easily obtainable through CBC and CRP may be useful for monitoring the functional and cognitive ability of long-lived people.

Terminal Explosion Power Test Flight Platform of Warhead

Aiming at the shortcomings of high risk, high cost, low landing speed and low attitude accuracy of warhead terminal dynamic performance test, a low cost, recyclable and modular warhead terminal explosion power test flight platform is proposed. The overall scheme of two-stage flight is constructed, and the aerodynamic load of the flight process is analysed. In addition, the flight trajectory is designed. The numerical simulation results show that the flight platform can send the warhead to the specified test window, accurately control the drop velocity and attitude of the warhead in the test window, simulate the real flight environment of the warhead and the motion law of the terminal point. Therefore, the flight platform can realize the terminal explosion power test and test of the subsonic and supersonic warheads, providing technical support for the development of the warhead.

Aptasensors Are Conjectured as Promising ALT and AST Diagnostic Tools for the Early Diagnosis of Acute Liver Injury.

Abnormal levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in human serum are the most sensitive indicator of hepatocellular damage. Because liver-related health problems are directly linked to elevated levels of ALT and AST, it is important to develop accurate and rapid methods to detect these enzymes for the early diagnosis of liver disease and prevention of long-term liver damage. Several analytical methods have been developed for the detection of ALT and AST. However, these methods are based on complex mechanisms and require bulky instruments and laboratories, making them unsuitable for point-of-care application or in-house testing. Lateral flow assay (LFA)-based biosensors, on the other hand, provide rapid, accurate, and reliable results, are easy to operate, and are affordable for low-income populations. However, due to the storage, stability, batch-to-batch variations, and error margins, antibody-based LFAs are considered unaffordable for field applications. In this hypothesis, we propose the selection of aptamers with high affinity and specificity for the liver biomarkers ALT and AST to build an efficient LFA device for point-of-care applications. Though the aptamer-based LFA would be semiquantitative for ALT and AST, it would be an inexpensive option for the early detection and diagnosis of liver disease. Aptamer-based LFA is anticipated to minimize the economic burden. It can also be used for routine liver function tests regardless of the economic situation in each country. By developing a low-cost testing platform, millions of patients suffering from liver disease can be saved.

Toward the Real-Time and Rapid Quantification of Bacterial Cells Utilizing a Quartz Tuning Fork Sensor.

The quantitative evaluation of bacterial populations is required in many studies, particularly in the field of microbiology. The current techniques can be time-consuming and require a large volume of samples and trained laboratory personnel. In this regard, on-site, easy-to-use, and direct detection techniques are desirable. In this study, a quartz tuning fork (QTF) was investigated for the real-time detection of E. coli in different media, as well as the ability to determine the bacterial state and correlate the QTF parameters to the bacterial concentration. QTFs that are commercially available can also be used as sensitive sensors of viscosity and density by determining the QTFs' damping and resonance frequency. As a result, the influence of viscous biofilm adhered to its surface should be detectable. First, the response of a QTF to different media without E. coli was investigated, and Luria-Bertani broth (LB) growth medium caused the largest change in frequency. Then, the QTF was tested against different concentrations of E. coli (i.e., 102-105 colony-forming units per milliliter (CFU/mL)). As the E. coli concentration increased, the frequency decreased from 32.836 to 32.242 kHz. Similarly, the quality factor decreased with the increasing E. coli concentration. With a coefficient (R) of 0.955, a linear correlation between the QTF parameters and bacterial concentration was established with a 26 CFU/mL detection limit. Furthermore, a considerable change in frequency was observed against live and dead cells in different media. These observations demonstrate the ability of QTFs to distinguish between different bacterial states. QTFs allow real-time, rapid, low-cost, and non-destructive microbial enumeration testing that requires only a small volume of liquid sample.

The Role of the Prognostic Inflammatory and Nutritional Index (PINI) in the Evolution of Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease and Other Pathologies.

Protein-energy loss and inflammation are the main risk factors in the occurrence of complications in hemodialysis patients. The Prognostic Inflammatory and Nutritional Index (PINI) is a simple, inexpensive test to identify the early onset of inflammation and malnutrition in hemodialysis patients, critically ill subjects and those with malignancies. A systemic review of English literature was conducted on the topic published between 1985 and 2022. A focused and sensitive search strategy was applied to the PUBMED database to identify relevant scientific articles in English. Once articles were identified, a detailed quality and bias assessment was performed. Two independent researchers analyzed the detailed data extraction. PINI proved to be a sensitive, powerful, low-cost and simple test. PINI has been useful in assessing evolution and prognostics in clinical care, with values above one being associated with a high risk of mortality and morbidity. It is useful in cases with surgical and postoperative complications, long hospitalization, as well as increased associated expenses. This is the first review of the literature on the above-mentioned topic (PINI) and is a valuable candidate for validating prognosis in patients with different pathologies.

SIMplyBee: an R package to simulate honeybee populations and breeding programs

BackgroundThe Western honeybee is an economically important species globally, but has been experiencing colony losses that lead to economical damage and decreased genetic variability. This situation is spurring additional interest in honeybee breeding and conservation programs. Stochastic simulators are essential tools for rapid and low-cost testing of breeding programs and methods, yet no existing simulator allows for a detailed simulation of honeybee populations. Here we describe SIMplyBee, a holistic simulator of honeybee populations and breeding programs. SIMplyBee is an R package and hence freely available for installation from CRAN http://cran.r-project.org/package=SIMplyBee.ImplementationSIMplyBee builds upon the stochastic simulator AlphaSimR that simulates individuals with their corresponding genomes and quantitative genetic values. To enable honeybee-specific simulations, we extended AlphaSimR by developing classes for global simulation parameters, SimParamBee, for a honeybee colony, Colony, and multiple colonies, MultiColony. We also developed functions to address major honeybee specificities: honeybee genome, haplodiploid inheritance, social organisation, complementary sex determination, polyandry, colony events, and quantitative genetics at the individual- and colony-levels.ResultsWe describe its implementation for simulating a honeybee genome, creating a honeybee colony and its members, addressing haplodiploid inheritance and complementary sex determination, simulating colony events, creating and managing multiple colonies at the same time, and obtaining genomic data and honeybee quantitative genetics. Further documentation, available at http://www.SIMplyBee.info, provides details on these operations and describes additional operations related to genomics, quantitative genetics, and other functionalities.DiscussionSIMplyBee is a holistic simulator of honeybee populations and breeding programs. It simulates individual honeybees with their genomes, colonies with colony events, and individual- and colony-level genetic and breeding values. Regarding the latter, SIMplyBee takes a user-defined function to combine individual- into colony-level values and hence allows for modeling any type of interaction within a colony. SIMplyBee provides a research platform for testing breeding and conservation strategies and their effect on future genetic gain and genetic variability. Future developments of SIMplyBee will focus on improving the simulation of honeybee genomes, optimizing the simulator’s performance, and including spatial awareness in mating functions and phenotype simulation. We invite the honeybee genetics and breeding community to join us in the future development of SIMplyBee.

A Low-Cost Test Method for Accurate Detection of Different Excited-State Species with a Lifetime Span over 5 Orders of Magnitude in One Time Window

Accurate quantification on the quantum yields (φ) of both the prompt fluorescence (PF) and the delayed fluorescence (DF) species is quite essential for the clarification of molecular design rationales for thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) luminogens. Currently, most φPF and φDF data of TADF fluorophores were acquired through time-correlated single-photon counting (TCSPC) lifetime measurement systems. However, because of their equal-time-channel working manner, so far all the commercially available TCSPC systems cannot render accurate measurement on φPF of TADF materials due to the lack of enough valid data points in the faster decay region of the corresponding photoluminescence (PL) decay curves. Although an intensified charge coupled device (ICCD) system equipped with a streak camera or an optical parametric oscillation laser has been proven to be a powerful tool for accurate determination of φPF and φDF of TADF fluorophores, the ultrahigh cost of these ICCD systems makes them inaccessible to most users. Herein, by replacing the timing module of a commercial TCSPC system with a low-cost and versatile time-to-digital converter (TDC) module, we developed a modified TCSPC system that can work in an unequal-time-channel manner. The resultant TDC-TCSPC system can not only concurrently determine the accurate lifetime of PF and DF species whose lifetime span even exceeds 5 orders of magnitude in just one time window but also render accurate measurements on φPF and φDF of TADF fluorophores. The reliability of the TDC-TCSPC method was verified through TCSPC- and ICCD-based comparative experiments on ACMPS, a known TADF fluorophore. Our results not only can provide a low-cost and convenient test method for accurate determination of key experimental data of TADF materials but also will facilitate deeper understanding of the molecular design principles for high-performance TADF materials.

Recombinant mycobacterium tuberculosis fusion protein for diagnosis of mycobacterium tuberculosis infection: a short-term economic evaluation.

Recombinant Mycobacterium tuberculosis fusion protein (EC) was anticipated to be used for the scale-up of clinical application for diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in China, but it lacked a head-to-head economic evaluation based on the Chinese population. This study aimed to estimate the cost-utility and the cost-effectiveness of both EC and tuberculin pure protein derivative (TB-PPD) for diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in the short term. From a Chinese societal perspective, both cost-utility analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis were performed to evaluate the economics of EC and TB-PPD for a one-year period based on clinical trials and decision tree model, with quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) as the utility-measured primary outcome and diagnostic performance (including the misdiagnosis rate, the omission diagnostic rate, the number of patients correctly classified, and the number of tuberculosis cases avoided) as the effective-measured secondary outcome. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to validate the robustness of the base-case analysis, and a scenario analysis was conducted to evaluate the difference in the charging method between EC and TB-PPD. The base-case analysis showed that, compared with TB-PPD, EC was the dominant strategy with an incremental cost-utility ratio (ICUR) of saving 192,043.60 CNY per QALY gained, and with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of saving 7,263.53 CNY per misdiagnosis rate reduction. In addition, there was no statistical difference in terms of the omission diagnostic rate, the number of patients correctly classified, and the number of tuberculosis cases avoided, and EC was a similar cost-saving strategy with a lower test cost (98.00 CNY) than that of TB-PPD (136.78 CNY). The sensitivity analysis showed the robustness of cost-utility and cost-effectiveness analysis, and the scenario analysis indicated cost-utility in EC and cost-effectiveness in TB-PPD. This economic evaluation from a societal perspective showed that, compared to TB-PPD, EC was likely to be a cost-utility and cost-effective intervention in the short term in China.

A Low-Cost Burn-In Tester Architecture to Supply Effective Electrical Stress

Burn-In test equipment usually owns extensive memory capabilities to store pre-computed patterns to be applied to the circuit inputs as well as ad-hoc circuitries to drive and read the DUT pins during the BI phase. The solution proposed in this paper dramatically reduces the memory size requirement and just demands a generic microcontroller unit (MCU) equipped with a couple of embedded processors, some standard common peripheral units, and a few KB memories. Moreover, the proposed Burn-In tester could be integrated into a System Level Test equipment which is typically based on MCUs to communicate functionally with the DUT. This paper provides full details about the architecture of such a low-cost innovative tester, which can supply the DUT with unlimited pseudo-random patterns created autonomously by the MCU firmware from any selected seed. The tester prototype developed to collect experimental results includes a low-cost System-on-Chip based on a multi-core MCU and a set of peripheral cores, encompassing timers and Direct Memory Access modules. The tester prototype is used to stress an automotive chip accounting for about 20 million gates, 700 thousand scan flip-flops, and several scan modes. The combination of pseudo-random pattern generation with the ability to control different scan and Design for Testability (DfT) modes, including LBIST, permits to reach a higher coverage of stress metrics than by the application of a limited set of pre-computed ATPG patterns. The toggle coverage level reached is up to 95.89&#x0025;. The application speed achieved by the tester with non-optimized connections is up to about 10MHz.

What to Do if the qPCR Test for SARS-CoV-2 or Other Pathogen Lacks Endogenous Internal Control? A Simple Test on Housekeeping Genes.

Some of the products for the molecular diagnosis of infections do not have an endogenous internal control, and this is necessary to ensure that the result is not a false negative. The aim of the project was to design a simple low-cost RT-qPCR test that can confirm the expression of basic metabolism proteins, thus confirming the quality of genetic material for molecular diagnostic tests. Two successful equivalent qPCR assays for the detection of the GADPH and ACTB genes were obtained. The course of standard curves is logarithmic, with a very high correlation coefficient R2 within the range of 0.9955-0.9956. The reaction yield was between 85.5 and 109.7%, and the detection limit (LOD) with 95% positive probability was estimated at 0.0057 ng/µL for GAPDH and 0.0036 ng/µL for ACTB. These tests are universal because they function on various types of samples (swabs, cytology, etc.) and can complement the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens, as well as potentially oncological diagnostics.

QPOLE: A Quick, Simple, and Cheap Alternative for POLE Sequencing in Endometrial Cancer by Multiplex Genotyping Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction.

Detection of 11 pathogenic variants in the POLE gene in endometrial cancer (EC) is critically important to identify women with a good prognosis and reduce overtreatment. Currently, POLE status is determined by DNA sequencing, which can be expensive, relatively time-consuming, and unavailable in hospitals without specialized equipment and personnel. This may hamper the implementation of POLE-testing in clinical practice. To overcome this, we developed and validated a rapid, low-cost POLE hotspot test by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay, QPOLE. Primer and fluorescence-labeled 5'-nuclease probe sequences of the 11 established pathogenic POLE mutations were designed. Three assays, QPOLE-frequent for the most common mutations and QPOLE-rare-1 and QPOLE-rare-2 for the rare variants, were developed and optimized using DNA extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tumor tissues. The simplicity of the design enables POLE status assessment within 4-6 hours after DNA isolation. An interlaboratory external validation study was performed to determine the practical feasibility of this assay. Cutoffs for POLE wild-type, POLE-mutant, equivocal, and failed results were predefined on the basis of a subset of POLE mutants and POLE wild-types for the internal and external validation. For equivocal cases, additional DNA sequencing is recommended. Performance in 282 EC cases, of which 99 were POLE-mutated, demonstrated an overall accuracy of 98.6% (95% CI, 97.2 to 99.9), a sensitivity of 95.2% (95% CI, 90.7 to 99.8), and a specificity of 100%. After DNA sequencing of 8.8% equivocal cases, the final sensitivity and specificity were 96.0% (95% CI, 92.1 to 99.8) and 100%. External validation confirmed feasibility and accuracy. QPOLE is a qPCR assay that is a quick, simple, and reliable alternative for DNA sequencing. QPOLE detects all pathogenic variants in the exonuclease domain of the POLE gene. QPOLE will make low-cost POLE-testing available for all women with EC around the globe.