Method For Quantitative Measurement Research Articles

Assessment of food losses at the stage of agricultural production in the Russian Federation

The article presents a method of quantitative measurement of food losses in agricultural production in Russia based on verifiable statistical data and the results of its application. The relevance of the study is related to the limited resources for agricultural production and the growing demand for food, considering climate change, leading to an increase in the risks of extreme weather events and epidemics. The estimates of losses presented in Russia are either based on the calculation of food resource balances and have limitations in terms of coverage of the types of losses considered, or are based on subjective assessments of respondents. The proposed method makes it possible to identify focal points of food losses in agricultural production. In addition, the results obtained can be used to assess the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions because of limiting food losses in Russian agricultural production.

Sex-based differences and relationship with the restricted knee flexion angle due to aging: a comparative study

BackgroundThe relationship between inferior patellar mobility (IPM) and knee flexion angle has yet to be elucidated. This study aimed to develop quantitative IPM measurement methods and clarify the relationship between IPM and knee flexion angle in community-dwelling older females.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study. Overall, 128 healthy older women (age 65–79 years) were recruited from the community to evaluate the relationship between IPM and knee flexion angle. This study was performed between May 2015 and December 2017. The reference value of and sex differences in IPM were evaluated in 205 healthy young adults aged between 19 and 21 years. IPM was compared between healthy older and young women and was objectively measured using our specially designed patellofemoral arthrometer (PFA). Patellar mobility was calculated by normalization to body height. IPM reliability was assessed before all measurements.ResultsIntraclass correlation coefficients for intratester and intertester reliabilities varied from 0.87 to 0.99. The normal range based on two standard deviations of inferior patellar displacement/body height was 5.9–13.5% (young men), 5.1–14.3% (young women), and 1.2–8.8% (older women). IPM was significantly lower in older than young women (P < 0.001). There was a significant positive correlation (r = 0.72 and P < 0.01) between IPM and knee flexion angle in healthy older women unable to flex the knee joint fully.ConclusionsOur PFA has good intratester and intertester reliability. The results suggest that IPM decreases with aging in women. IPM and knee flexion angle are correlated among older women unable to flex the knee joint fully.Clinical trial registrationNot applicable.

Design and Implement Strategy of Wireless Bite Force Device.

Abnormal bite force is an important risk factor for oral and maxillofacial disorders, which is a critical dilemma that dentists face every day without effective solutions. Therefore, it is of great clinical significance to develop a wireless bite force measurement device and explore quantitative measurement methods to help find effective strategies for improving occlusal diseases. This study designed the open window carrier of a bite force detection device through 3D printing technology, and then the stress sensors were integrated and embedded into a hollow structure. The sensor system mainly consisted of a pressure signal acquisition module, a main control module, and a server terminal. A machine learning algorithm will be leveraged for bite force data processing and parameter configuration in the future. This study implemented a sensor prototype system from scratch to fully evaluate each component of the intelligent device. The experimental results showed reasonable parameter metrics for the device carrier and demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed scheme for bite force measurement. An intelligent and wireless bite force device with a stress sensor system is a promising approach to occlusal disease diagnosis and treatment.

Extensive Evaluation of a Method for Quantitative Measurement of Aflatoxins B1 and M1 in Animal Urine Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are common feed contaminants and are one of the common causes of toxin-related pet food poisoning and recalls. Currently, there are no validated methods for the detection and quantitation of AFs in biological matrices to diagnose AF exposure in live animals. Following a successful intra-laboratory method development to quantify AFB1 and AFM1 in animal urine by HPLC with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD), the present study was conducted to extensively evaluate the method performance in an unbiased manner using blinded samples. The evaluation included two stages. First, the performance was verified in the method-originating laboratory in a single-laboratory blinded method test (BMT-S) trial followed by a multi-laboratory blinded method test (BMT-M) trial. In both trials, accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility were satisfactory confirming the relatively good ruggedness and robustness of the method and ensuring that it will perform as expected if used by other laboratories in the future. We extensively evaluated the performance of a quantitative method to detect AFB1 and AFM1 in animal urine by HPLC-FLD by two different laboratories in two separate BMT-S and BMT-M trials. Both BMT results demonstrated the satisfactory accuracy and precision of the method. It is now available to be adopted by other diagnostic laboratories for purposes of diagnosing AF intoxication in animals. A simple urine-based diagnostic test method using HPLC-FLD that originated in a single laboratory now has passed a multi-laboratory evaluation and is now available to be shared with other diagnostic laboratories for purposes of diagnosing AF intoxication in animals so better treatment can be rendered.

Donor Nerve Selection in Free Gracilis Muscle Transfer; Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Introduction: One of the crucial factors in facial reanimation surgery is the donor nerve selection. There have been several neurotizers to reinnervate the free gracilis muscle flap (FGMT). Currently the cross-face nerve graft (CFNG) and motor nerve to masseter are the most favored options. The “dual innervation” is described as potential way to combine the advantages of individual donor nerves and has shown successful results. Materials and Methods: Two databases were searched for the CFNG, masseteric nerve and dual innervation of FGMT. Defined primary measures were applied to the results to compare the extent of commissure excursion, facial symmetry at rest and smile, spontaneity, time to flap contraction for each neurotizer. Meta-analysis was conducted for studies including quantitative data for commissure excursion and facial symmetry. We included all study types except the animal studies. Only articles written in English language from 2001 were taken into consideration. We followed PRISMA guidelines. ROBINS-I and Newcastle-Ottawa tools were used to assess the risk of bias and quality for each study included in the meta-analysis. Results: 147 articles on FGMT were systematically reviewed and 13 studies were evaluated in the meta-analysis. All studies were high in quality. Heterogeneity was high among the studies, limiting the efficiency of our meta-analysis. Conclusion: CFNG is the most frequently utilized reinnervation technique. Masseteric nerve is very reliable and has the potential to provide more commissural excursion and higher success rate. Dual innervation is an effective alternative leading to effective clinical outcomes. A globalized and quantitative measurement method will contribute to the future of facial reanimation surgery.

Peculiarities of the Functioning of the Taboo Lexicon in the Modern Western Cinematography

Introduction. The article reviews peculiarities of functioning of taboo lexis, which is a manysided and indispensable aspect of modern filmmaking. The study aims at the analysis of taboo functioning in the linguistic field in order to improve foreign content application in compliance with censorship requirements. The implementation presupposes analysis of taboo lexical units, revealing their functioning features as regards to acceptable implementation of the taboo and to depict the possible ways of optimization of its use in modern cinema.Methodology and sources. The article presents results of the analysis of the taboo lexis in Western filmmaking, the former being based on a complex semantic-discursive and pragmatic approach. Specific linguistic methods of observation, description and quantitative measurement are used in the article together with the general linguistic methods of comparison. Informative basis of the study is comprised of more than 300 examples selected by the method of continuous sampling from 19 Western films and y means of the internet-resource scripts.com, as well as slang and jargon dictionaries.Results and discussion. Taking into account many-sided study of the taboo lexis, the article reveals more than 60 units representing gender, and social features of taboo in the English language carrying an imprint of directive connotation. These taboo units are ubiquitously used in the Western filmmaking degrading the speech value of film characters and the general cultural level of film industry. The analysis demonstrates that taboo lexis is able to create veritable images of film characters and their scenic behaviour in spite of the unacceptability of taboo usage in mass media.Conclusion. As was shown by the study of the taboo lexis its application by English-language speakers in film is conditioned by considerations of magnified emotional and evaluating expressivity of the speech. It is particularly noticeable that marginalized strata and theme scope of communication on topics of crime of illegal income with the help of taboo is defined by directivity of the discourse and language play.

Development and Validation of Analytical HPLC Method for Identification and Assay of Enoxaparin Sodium in Injectable Preparations

Introduction. Enoxaparin sodium-containing drugs are included in relevant protocols for COVID-19 therapy. An increase in the production volume of such drugs leads to a demand for available and precise methods of identification and quantitative measurement of the active ingredient in the preparations. Considering the fact that pharmacopoeial methods require significant amount of expensive standards and reagents that are unavailable for numerous laboratories, it is relevant to develop a more available method that will accelerate and make cheaper the process of quality control for enoxaparin sodium-containing preparations.Aim. To develop and validate a simple, economic, and precise method of gel-permeation HPLC with the application of a refractive index detector for the evaluation of enoxaparin sodium in preparations for injection.Materials and methods. Samples of enoxaparin sodium-containing substances and commercial preparations were studied. The identification and quantitative content of the active ingredient were performed by the method of gel-permeation HPLC using a 1260 Infinity (Agilent Technologies, USA) chromatograph equipped with a refractive index detector.Results and discussion. The authors analyzed standard validation characteristics: specificity, linearity, precision, and accuracy of the method. The analysis revealed high specificity and suitability of the proposed method to chromatographic symmetrical multiprocessing systems. The method is recommended for routine control of finished and semi-finished pharmaceutical preparations containing from 25 to 200 mg/ml of enoxaparin sodium-containing.Conclusion. The proposed method can be used for routine quality control of enoxaparin sodium-containing preparations for injection.

Determination of Sessile Drop Wetting Angle Based on μCT without the Direct Angle Measurement.

Wettability is an important factor that controls the position and transport of fluids in the porous structure of a hydrocarbon reservoir. Direct quantitative wettability measurement methods include determination of the contact angle. One of the popular laboratory methods for its measurement is the sessile drop method, where the droplet of liquid is set onto the solid sample surface and the angle between liquid and solid phases in a 2D profile image is measured using a high-resolution optical subsystem. However, this method has disadvantages connected with three complex factors: two-dimensionality of data, image resolution, and the presence of wetting domains on the solid surface. In this work, we propose a method based on 3D μCT scanning of a sessile drop on the surface of a material and determination of the value of the wetting angle using drop height and volume measurements. Since the contact angle is not measured directly, this makes it possible to obtain averaged contact angle values for the entire droplet and leads to more stable values for individual measurements in comparison with the standard optical method. The results demonstrate that contact angles obtained using the μCT method differ from the values obtained by various fitting techniques of the 2D optical method: μCT-values are higher for hydrophilic interaction by 4-6° and lower for hydrophobic interaction by 12-17°. Such differences are associated with the lower susceptibility of the proposed method to the influence of the gravitational effect, which leads to a flattening of the droplet shape and distortion of angle measurements on the 2D projections. However, the described method showed close contact angles for water drops on a polytetrafluoroethylene surface with values obtained in microgravity and can be helpful for its prediction. It also has relatively low sensitivity to the absolute values of the drop volume and drop segmentation errors.

Development of a novel capillary electrophoresis method for quantitative measurements of intracellular recombinant protein titer

The measurement of volumetric titer is an integral step in the assessment and selection of a production cell line and cell culture process. The production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), a major class of therapeutic proteins, in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell lines is challenging due to the clone-to-clone variations in the intrinsic capability to secrete a biologically complex protein. The measurement of intracellular mAb concentration could be a valuable tool to determine the ratio of intracellular to secreted product and be part of the evaluation of potential mAb productive cell lines. High throughput automation is a valuable tool that is used in bioprocess development to reduce work intensive steps. When coupled with the Simple Western (Wes) platform, automated capillary electrophoresis is an efficient method to measure recombinant protein concentration. In this study, we demonstrate the utility of using the automated Wes to rapidly measure intracellular titer and then compare the intracellular titer, volumetric titer and specific productivity between high and low production CHO clones expressing a model human IgG1 mAb.

Tarihî Çeşmeler ve Niğde Tarihî Kent Merkezi Çeşmeleri Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Throughout history, water has been one of the most valued resources for human beings, both as a source of life and with its visual beauty. All past societies gave great importance to water and developed different water structures such as wells, fountains and public fountains for its use. Among these structures, urban fountains are very important urban equipment because of their relationship with living spaces and the places where social communication takes place. The city of Niğde is an Anatolian city that has been under the domination of many great states from the Hittite to Rome, from the Anatolian Seljuk to the Ottoman Empire. These states have shown their influence on the traditional urban fabric as well as in the cultural life. There are many historical fountains from various periods in the city center of Niğde. The aim of this study; to emphasize the value of historical fountains for urban culture and to reveal how important it is to protect these fountains. The study also aimed to reveal the physical characteristics and cultural values of Niğde fountains from different periods. In this study, the typological features of the historical fountains in the city center of Niğde were revealed by quantitative measurement methods and a typological classification was made for these fountains. As a result of the study, the typological features of historical fountains were brought to the literature and the importance of these fountains for the city of Niğde, which is not very rich in terms of water resources, was emphasized.

Reliability, validity and sex differencesin a quantitative gag reflex measurement method in children aged 5 – 12 years

Background: The gag reflex is a normal, protective, physiological mechanism that occurs to prevent foreign objects and noxious material from entering the pharynx, larynx, and trachea. A proportion of the population has a profound and exaggerated reflex that can cause acute limitation of a patient’s ability to accept dental treatment and a clinician’s ability to provide it. Aim: To evaluate the reliability, validity, and sex differences in a quantitative gag reflex measurement method in children, aged between 5 to 12 years

Content Validity of Questionnaire on the Influence of Housing Affordability Factors on the Well-Being of the B40 Group Using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR)

This article discusses content validity to evaluate research questionnaires. All items are built based on the adaptation of several management theories and models and literature studies obtained from inside and outside the country. This study aims to examine the content validity of a questionnaire on the influence of housing affordability factors on the well-being of life for the B40 group on the East Coast using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR). Quantitative measurement methods through Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI) have been used to assess whether the items need to be retained or dropped. Twelve experts were selected to evaluate and confirm the content of the questionnaire. This questionnaire involves things with key factors. The study results show that this questionnaire has good content validity and proves that this questionnaire has excellent potential to be used to identify the influence of housing affordability factors on the well-being of life for the B40 group in peninsular Malaysia using the content validity ratio (CVR).

Mass spectrometry-based quantitation combined with time-dependent metabolomics to discover metabolic features in human neurogenesis using neural constructs generated from neural progenitor cells.

Direct studies focusing on the human brain are difficult to plan and conduct due to ethical and practical reasons. The advent of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived neurons has revolutionized the research of the human brain and central nervous system, but relevant analytical techniques have been much less explored. Herein, we have designed a novel bioanalytical strategy to discover the characteristics of human neurogenesis using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based quantitation and time-dependent metabolomics in combination with hPSC-derived neural constructs. To examine the growth of neurons in vitro, a quantitative method for the simultaneous measurement of N-acetylaspartic acid (NAA) and N-acetylglutamic acid (NAG) in a culture medium was established. The analysis of endogenous NAA and NAG concentrations over 28 days of neural cell culture not only illustrated the growth and maturation process of neural progenitors, but also confirmed the successful achievement of human neural constructs. Depending on the quantitative results, day 0, 10, 18, and 28 samples representing different growth phases were selected for further investigation of the global metabolic changes in developing human neurons. A versatile non-targeted, time-dependent metabolomics study identified 17 significantly changed metabolites and revealed the altered metabolic pathways including amino acid metabolism (tryptophan, phenylalanine, aspartate and beta-alanine metabolisms), pantothenate and coenzyme A biosynthesis, fatty acid metabolism, and purine and pyrimidine metabolism. The new metabolite profiles and overall metabolic pathways advance our understanding of human neurodevelopment. Additionally, the bioanalytical approach proposed in this study opens an interesting window for the capture and evaluation of the complex metabolic states of human neural cells, which would potentially be utilized in other in vitro models relevant to pathophysiology and treatment of neurological disorders, benefiting biomarker discovery and metabolic mechanism interpretation.

Combined FRET-FLIM and NAD(P)H FLIM to Analyze B Cell Receptor Signaling Induced Metabolic Activity of Germinal Center B Cells In Vivo.

Affinity maturation of B cell clones within germinal centers constitutes an important mechanism for immune memory. During this process, B cell receptor signaling capacity is tested in multiple rounds of positive selection. Antigen stimulation and co-stimulatory signals mobilize calcium to switch on gene expression leading to proliferation and survival and to differentiation into memory B cells and plasma cells. Additionally, all these processes require adaption of B cell metabolism, and calcium signaling and metabolic pathways are closely interlinked. Mitochondrial adaption, ROS production, and NADPH oxidase activation are involved in cell fate decisions, but it remains elusive to what extent, especially because the analysis of these dynamic processes in germinal centers has to take place in vivo. Here, we introduce a quantitative intravital imaging method for combined measurement of cytoplasmic calcium concentration and enzymatic fingerprinting in germinal center B cells as a possible tool in order to further examine the relationship of calcium signaling and immunometabolism.

A rapid, simple, high-performance liquid chromatography method for the clinical measurement of beta-lactam antibiotics in serum and interstitial fluid.

Background: enhanced methods of therapeutic drug monitoring are required to support the individualisation of antibiotic dosing based on pharmacokinetics (PK) parameters. PK studies can be hampered by limited total serum volume, especially in neonates, or by sensitivity in the case of critically ill patients. We aimed to develop a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) analysis of benzylpenicillin, phenoxymethylpenicillin and amoxicillin in single low volumes of human serum and interstitial fluid (ISF) samples, with an improved limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ), compared with previously published assays. Methods: sample clean-up was performed by protein precipitation using acetonitrile. Reverse phase chromatography was performed using triple quadrupole LC/MS. The mobile phase consisted of 55% methanol in water + 0.1% formic acid, with a flow rate of 0.4 mL min-1. Antibiotics stability was assessed at different temperatures. Results: chromatographic separation was achieved within 3 minutes for all analytes. Three common penicillins can now be measured in a single low-volume blood and ISF sample (15 μL) for the first time. Validation has demonstrated the method to be linear over the range 0.0015-10 mg L-1, with an accuracy of 93-104% and high sensitivity, with LOD ≈ 0.003 mg L-1 and LOQ ≈ 0.01 mg L-1 for all three analytes, which is critical for use in dose optimisation/individualisation. All evaluated penicillins indicated good stability at room temperature over 4 h, at (4 °C) over 24 h and at -80 °C for 6 months. Conclusion: the developed method is simple, rapid, accurate and clinically applicable for the quantification of three penicillin classes.

Triple quadrupole LC/MS method for the simultaneous quantitative measurement of cefiderocol and meropenem in serum.

Background: therapeutic drug monitoring is a crucial aspect of the management of hospitalized patients. The correct dosage of antibiotics is imperative to ensure their adequate exposure specially in critically ill patients. The aim of this study is to establish and validate a robust and fast liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for the simultaneous quantification of two important antibiotics in critically ill patients, cefiderocol and meropenem in human plasma. Methods: sample clean-up was performed by protein precipitation using acetonitrile. Reverse phase chromatography was performed using triple quadrupole LC/MS. The mobile phase was consisted of 55% methanol in water +0.1% formic acid, with flow rate of 0.4 ml min-1. Antibiotics stability was assessed at different temperatures. Serum protein binding was assessed using ultrafiltration devices. Results: chromatographic separation was achieved within 1.5 minutes for all analytes. Validation has demonstrated the method to be linear over the range 0.0025-50 mg L-1 for cefiderocol and 0.00028-50 mg L-1 for meropenem, with accuracy of 94-101% and highly sensitive, with LLOQ ≈ 0.02 mg L-1 and 0.003 mg L-1 for cefiderocol and meropenem, respectively. Both cefiderocol and meropenem showed a good stability at room temperature over 6 h, and at (4 °C) over 24 h. Cefiderocol and meropenem demonstrated a protein binding of 49-60% and 98%, respectively in human plasma. Conclusion: the developed method is simple, rapid, accurate and clinically applicable for the quantification of cefiderocol and meropenem.

Development and validation of an HPLC-UV method for purity determination of DNA

Determination of the concentration and the purity of DNAs is crucial for measuring the DNA copy number since it will influence further DNA analysis such as digital PCR (dPCR) and next-generation sequencing (NGS). Precise and scientifically validated DNA measurements empower healthcare professionals and authorities to deliver reliable outcomes. DNA agarose gel electrophoresis is commonly used to check DNA purity; however, its resolution is limited. In this study, a quantitative HPLC-UV measurement method to separate DNAs was established as an alternative to both DNA electrophoresis and spectrophotometric techniques. The method was fully validated to separate DNAs ranging between 75 and 20,000 base pairs. DNA mixtures were prepared gravimetrically. Chromatographic separations were conducted on a TSKgel DNA-NPR column with dimensions of 2.5µm, 4.6mm ID x 7.5cm, using a flow rate of 0.75 mL/min. The uncertainty of the method was assessed following the guidelines provided by EURACHEM/CITAC. The method demonstrated linearity for the 200 bp DNA fragment within the range of 0.4 ng to 800 ng DNA, with a high regression coefficient of R²=0.999. The Limit of Detection (LOD) for the 200 bp DNA fragment was determined to be 1 ng, while the Limit of Quantitation (LOQ) was found to be 3 ng. The recovery percentages for the 1%, 5%, and 10% impurities of the 150 bp DNA in 200 bp DNA fragments were measured at 101.8%, 97.4%, and 99.5%, respectively. The method established can be used in the value assignment stages of the reference materials which are required for SI traceable DNA measurements.

Recent Progress in Methods for Quantitative Measurement of Photosensitizer

Recent Progress in Methods for Quantitative Measurement of Photosensitizer

A Multi-Objective Finite-Element Method Optimization That Reduces Computation Resources Through Subdomain Model Assistance, for Surface-Mounted Permanent-Magnet Machines Used in Motion Systems

Surface-mounted permanent-magnet (PM) motors are widely used in motion control systems because of their high peak torque-to-inertia ratio. These motors exhibit high magnetic saturation to produce high peak torque. A precise finite-element model (FEM) is needed to optimize these motors. It requires high computation power, especially for multi-objective optimizations. On the contrary, subdomain models require low computing power but are inaccurate when magnetic saturation occurs. To solve this problem, we use a subdomain-assisted FEM optimization method (SAFEMOM) that combines subdomain models for preoptimization and FEM for refined optimization. We provide the quantitative measurement methods to compare SAFEMOM with FEM-only optimization. If the constraints in the magnetic fluxes in the subdomain part of SAFEMOM are based on the actual saturation value of the materials, then the advantage of SAFEMOM is not significant. The machines in this study use non-linear material with a knee point at 1.3 T and hence show heavy magnetic saturation above 1.5 T. In that case, contrary to what could be intuitively thought, we need to increase the magnetic flux density limit to 2.6 T - 3.0 T in SAFEMOM to have a significant advantage. SAFEMOM reduces about 80% of computing time to obtain a slightly better convergence than the one using FEM only. Also, if limited computing resource is allowed, SAFEMOM gives an error reduced by a factor of nearly eight compared to the optimization error using FEM only. Those results are validated on a family of surface-mounted permanent-magnet machines with a wide range of design parameters.

Innovative intellectual capital in the system of factors of technical and technological development

Purpose. To define the essence and structure of the innovative intellectual capital and substantiate the quantitative indicators for its measurement. Methodology. During the research, the following general scientific methods of scientific knowledge were applied: system analysis to clarify the essence of innovative intellectual capital and its structure; a method of analysis and synthesis to substantiate the components of the innovative intellectual capital index; economic and mathematical methods to calculate the index value for certain countries of the world. Findings. The essence of innovative intellectual capital is analyzed as a set of intangible assets of the country, which characterize the real and potential ability of human capital to use knowledge and information for innovative economic growth. Its three structural elements human, structural, and network social capitals are identified and characterized. A method of quantitative measurement of innovative intellectual capital is substantiated by representing the same-name index. The value of the innovative intellectual capital indices is calculated in terms of sampling of 26 world countries; its dynamics over three years is shown, and direct relationship between its level and the GDP indicator of the respective country is proven. Originality. The essence of innovative intellectual capital and its structure is substantiated; the index of innovative intellectual capital is proposed, and its value is calculated for the selected world countries; the direct dependence between its level and the GDP indicator of the respective country is proved. Practical value. The proposed index of innovative intellectual capital makes it possible to select more effectively the directions of the national economic policy in the field of technical and technological development.