Qualitative Identification Research Articles

Revealing the Inheritance of Qualitative Traits and Identification of Transgressive Segregants for Productivity Traits in Early Segregating Generation of Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merril

The breeding effort was carried out to elucidate information on the inheritance of qualitative traits and identification of transgressive segregants for productivity traits in two crosses viz., DSb 23 x MACS 1575 (Cross 1) and DSb 23 x MACS 1460 (Cross 2) in soybean during Kharif 2020 at Botany Garden, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad. The observations were recorded on nine traits viz., days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, pods per plant, 100 seed weight, seed yield per plant, hilum colour, leaf shape and flower colour. Test for goodness of fit revealed that the traits viz., flower colour and leaf shape are controlled by a single dominant gene (3:1) and hilum colour was controlled by two genes with complementary gene action (9:7). In general, the percent of transgressive segregants obtained for yield-related traits was in a range of 7-17%. The high frequency of favorable segregants was identified for pods per plant (15.33%), 100 seed weight (13.87%) and days to maturity (16.42%) in cross 1, and high frequency of favorable segregants in cross 2 were observed for days to 50% flowering (8.95%), plant height (13.75%) and seed yield per plant (14.17%). These segregants can be further utilized in the breeding programme to develop high-yielding varieties and morphological traits can be used as markers in molecular breeding.

Coupling the force analysis technique and full-field vibration measurements for the identification of a time-space-varying sound pressure loading on a membrane

This work is grounded on the force analysis technique, an identification method that directly uses a structure's equation of motion to formulate an inverse problem, explicitly identifying the force causing the structure's motion. Prior research employing this technique has been predominantly conducted in the frequency domain and was limited to stationary, mechanical excitations using physical sensor arrays such as accelerometers. The objective of this research was mostly quantitative (amplitude, location), while the proposed approach is rather qualitative identification. Indeed and by combining the force analysis technique with full-field and non-contact vibration measurements conducted on a system, here a membrane, this communication describes a proof-of-concept for the identification of a time-space-varying sound pressure loading. A compact and tonal sound source is used to draw freehand shapes against the membrane surface, and the objective is to follow/reconstruct the trajectory followed by this source. Results are provided for different drawn shapes or letters, and the effect of mechanical or calculation parameters on the reconstructed information is studied. Finally, potential research directions are discussed and fed by preliminary measurements on a percussion instrument.

Совершенствование методики управления профессиональными рисками

The issue of occupational safety improving methods has been considered based on the example of a single enterprise. The area of improvement of activities a priori aiming at occupational safety has been chosen. In particular, the optimization of risk management stages at the workplace has been proposed. A risk management methodology consisting of standard stages (identification, assessment, management) but including separate improved levels or elements has been developed. A set of tables for volumetric, qualitative, and quantitative identification of hazards enabling the reduction of the number of unaccounted risks at the workplace has been formed. For the risk assessment stage, the application of an increasing human factor coefficient that reflects the individual characteristics of an employee affecting risk levels at the workplace has been proposed. For the relevant cases, it is recommended to use the machinery equipment assessment model to detect more risks at the workplace equipped with a machine. The occupational risk management stage has been improved due to differentiated and clarified formulations of hazards, which allows for choosing a correct and efficient measure. The methodology is also supplemented with a set aiming at occupational and industrial stress. For the identification stage, a set of parameters has been selected to determine psychosocial risks. The risk management process has been improved in the part of stress factors. In order to substantiate the performance and efficiency of the improved methodology as compared with the methodology applied at the enterprise, a comparative analysis of the two methodologies has been conducted at 10 different workplaces. The data confirming the increase of performance and efficiency of the improved methodology has been provided, which logically, on the condition of the consistent implementation of all occupational risk management stages, will reduce risks at the workplace and the number of industrial injuries, and ensure increased occupational safety.

Mapping the functional form of the trade-off between infection resistance and reproductive fitness under dysregulated immune signaling.

Immune responses benefit organismal fitness by clearing parasites but also exact costs associated with immunopathology and energetic investment. Hosts manage these costs by tightly regulating the induction of immune signaling to curtail excessive responses and restore homeostasis. Despite the theoretical importance of turning off the immune response to mitigate these costs, experimentally connecting variation in the negative regulation of immune responses to organismal fitness remains a frontier in evolutionary immunology. In this study, we used a dose-response approach to manipulate the RNAi-mediated knockdown efficiency of cactus (IκBα), a central regulator of Toll pathway signal transduction in flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum). By titrating cactus activity across four distinct levels, we derived the shape of the relationship between immune response investment and traits associated with host fitness, including infection susceptibility, lifespan, fecundity, body mass, and gut homeostasis. Cactus knock-down increased the overall magnitude of inducible immune responses and delayed their resolution in a dsRNA dose-dependent manner, promoting survival and resistance following bacterial infection. However, these benefits were counterbalanced by dsRNA dose-dependent costs to lifespan, fecundity, body mass, and gut integrity. Our results allowed us to move beyond the qualitative identification of a trade-off between immune investment and fitness to actually derive its functional form. This approach paves the way to quantitatively compare the evolution and impact of distinct regulatory elements on life-history trade-offs and fitness, filling a crucial gap in our conceptual and theoretical models of immune signaling network evolution and the maintenance of natural variation in immune systems.

Space-time reconstruction of a moving acoustic loading on a membrane by coupling the force analysis technique and full-field non-contact vibration measurements

Identifying acoustical and mechanical loadings on structures is a common problem in acoustics and vibration analysis and stationary loadings are mostly considered on plate-like structures. This work describes a proof of concept for reconstructing the trajectory of an acoustic source moving in front of a membrane. Compared with works focusing on precisely identifying a loading’s amplitude at a given location, the objective is to reconstruct the loading’s trajectory–Qualitative loading identification is sought rather than quantitative. The force analysis technique is used to recover a space-time varying loading on a structure, starting from time-resolved full-field non-contact vibration measurements conducted on a circular membrane. At the same time, a compact and tonal sound source is used to draw freehand shapes in front of the membrane. The loading trajectory, therefore, contains information that was “acoustically written”. Simple hand gestures that correspond to the drawing of a Greek letter (Σ), a capital letter (P), two shapes (♡, ⋆), and a 3-letter word (net) are recovered using the proposed procedure. The effect of various parameters on the reconstructed information is studied. Perspectives in terms of possible research areas and applications are finally discussed. These perspectives include, for example, the use of membranes to help reconstruct complex and space-time-varying loadings or even applications in musical acoustics on membranophones.

Unveil the sugar diet and associated environmental compounds in the crop of the mosquito Culex pipiens

Culex pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758) mosquitoes search plant sources of sugars to cope with the energetic demand of various physiological processes. The crop as part of the digestive system is devoted to the storage of sugar-based meal obtained from various nectars sources. The profiling of sugars and metabolites in the Culex pipiens’ crop is scarce, and only few studies used Liquid Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), which provides broad detection for biomonitoring environmental substances and even contaminants in the sugar diet of mosquitoes populations.Therefore, sugar and metabolite profiling were performed on crops obtained from mosquitoes exposed to plant nectar under laboratory or natural conditions by Ultra High-Performance LC-MS (UHPLC-MS). This method allowed us a precise quantitative and qualitative identification of sugar diet and associated environmental compounds in the crop of the mosquito C. pipiens. Under laboratory condition, mosquitoes were allowed to feed on either glucose solution, commercially-available flowers or field collected flowers. In addition, we collected mosquitoes from the field to compare those crop metabolomes with metabolome patterns occurring after nectar feeding in the lab.The sugar quantities and quality obtained from the crops of mosquitoes collected in the field were similar to those crops obtained from mosquitoes that fed on commercially-available flowers and from field collected flowers with a limit of detection of 10 μg/L for sucrose, glucose and sucrose. Next to sugar compounds, we identified 2 types of amino acids, 12 natural products, and 9 pesticides.Next to the diversity of sugar compounds, we could confirm that secondary metabolites and environmental pollutants are typically up taken from floral nectar sources by C. pipiens. The in-depth knowledge on mosquito–plant interactions may inspire the development and further optimization of mosquito trap systems and arboviral surveillance systems.

Passive trapping of biomolecules in hotspots with all-dielectric terahertz metamaterials

Electromagnetic metamaterials feature the capability of squeezing photons into hotspot regions of high intensity near-field enhancement for strong light-matter interaction, underpinning the next generation of emerging biosensors. However, randomly dispersed biomolecules around the hotspots lead to weak interactions. Here, we demonstrate an all-silicon dielectric terahertz metamaterial sensor design capable of passively trapping biomoleculars into the resonant cavities confined with powerful electric field. Specifically, multiple controllable high-quality factor resonances driven by bound states in the continuum (BIC) are realized by employing longitudinal symmetry breaking. The dielectric metamaterial sensor with nearly 15.2 experimental figure-of-merit enabling qualitative and quantitative identification of different amino acids by delivering biomolecules to the hotspots for strong light-matter interactions. It is envisioned that the presented strategy will enlighten high-performance meta-sensors design from microwaves to visible frequencies, and serve as a potential platform for microfluidic sensing, biomolecular capture, and sorting devices.

High-precision sensor for glucose solution using active multidimensional feature THz spectroscopy.

Terahertz waves are known for their bio-safety and spectral fingerprinting features, and terahertz spectroscopy technology holds great potential for both qualitative and quantitative identification in the biomedical field. There has been a substantial amount of research utilizing this technology in conjunction with machine learning algorithms for substance identification. However, due to the strong absorption of water for terahertz waves, the single-dimensional features of the sample become indistinct, thereby diminishing the efficiency of the algorithmic recognition. Building upon this, we propose a method that employs terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) in conjunction with multidimensional feature spectrum identification for the detection of blood sugar and glucose mixtures. Our research indicates that combining THz-TDS with multidimensional feature spectrum and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) algorithms can effectively identify glucose concentrations and detect adulteration. By integrating the multidimensional feature spectrum, the identification success rate increased from 68.9% to 96.0%. This method offers an economical, rapid, and safe alternative to traditional methods and can be applied in blood sugar monitoring, sweetness assessment, and food safety.

Smartphone-assisted ratiometric fluorescence sensor for sensitive and portable α-glucosidase activity detection and inhibitor screening

α-Glucosidase (α-Glu) is an enzyme that plays an essential role in the digestion of carbohydrates, and its activity detection and inhibitor screening are crucial for the therapy of diseases and development of new drugs. In this study, α-Glu can catalyze the hydrolysis of α-arbutin to produce hydroquinone (HQ), and HQ can regulate the in-situ synthesis of polymer carbon dots (PCDs) with ethylenediamine (EDA). PCDs and tetraphenylporphyrin tetrasulphonic acid (TPPS) are separately designed as green and red fluorescent sensing units. With the increase of α-Glu concentration, the number of PCDs is gradually increased, resulting in enhancement of green fluorescence and quenching of red fluorescence. Conversely, when α-Glu inhibitors (AGIs) are present, the activity of α-Glu is inhibited, leading to weak green fluorescence and strong red fluorescence. Thus a ratiometric fluorescence sensor was designed for the determination of α-Glu activity and screening of AGIs. The developed ratiometric sensor exhibits a linear relationship between fluorescence intensity ratios and α-Glu concentrations (0.01 to 0.04 U/mL) with limit of detection of 0.184 mU/mL, which is much lower than the single fluorescence model. In addition, rapid and portable detection of α-Glu can be achieved using a smartphone with a color picking software installed as a signal detection device, which greatly reduces the cost and time of detection and provides a promising method for qualitative identification and quantitative analysis of α-Glu in the resource-limited areas. Moreover, the method is very promising for high-throughput screening AGIs from natural products.

P504 Prevalence of gastrointestinal infections in ulcerative colitis patients assessed with QIASTAT-DX® GASTROINTESTINAL PANEL 2

Abstract Background In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an acute clinical flare may be due to either disease exacerbation or an enteric infection. Thus, it is recommended to exclude infections before escalating IBD therapy. In this setting, conventional tests identify only a minimal proportion of infections (i.e. 10%). Whether nucleic acid multiplex tests can expand the range of detected pathogens and increase the overall prevalence is still a matter of debate. Methods We performed a single-center transversal prospective study at Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico Ca’ Granda. Stool samples from consecutive ulcerative colitis (UC) patients experiencing a disease flare and a group of patients in clinical remission were enrolled between February and October 2023 and tested with QIAstat-Dx Gastrointestinal Panel 2 (Qiagen GmbH, Hilden, Germany) for simultaneous qualitative detection and identification of nucleic acids from multiple viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Clinically active disease was defined as a Partial Mayo Score (PMS) of ≥2. Results Overall, 85 UC patients were enrolled. Demographics and clinical features are displayed in Table 1. Median age was 42 (18-79), 52% were males. The two most common treatment regimens were mesalamine (54%) and biologic/small molecule treatment (35%). 66 (78%) patients were clinically active, while 19 (22%) were in remission. In the active group, median bowel movements were 5 (3-15), 58 (88%) patients had loose stool, 32 (49%) reported abdominal pain, 40 (61%) urgency, 10 (15%) overnight symptoms, 6 (9%) fever. Median PMS was 5 (2-8). Median hemoglobin was 13.8 (8.2-16.4) g/dL, fecal calprotectin 508 (<5-4980) ug/g. Prevalence of gastrointestinal infections with QIAstat-Dx was 30 vs. 10% (p=0.13) in active vs. remission group, respectively. The most common infections were: C.Difficile infection (CDI) (4 cases), Cytomegalovirus (CMV) (4 cases) and enteropathogenic E.Coli (EPEC) (4 cases). Regarding viral and E. Coli infections, clinical remission (PMS <2) occurred spontaneously. As for CMV, Campylobacter spp., and CDI, all patients except one achieved remission following specific antimicrobial treatment. In one patient CMV infection led to hospital admission (circulating CMV DNA 35,395 IU/mL). The remaining patient did not receive specific antiviral therapy since sigmoidoscopy only detected isolated CMV+ cells, and remission was achieved with UC treatment escalation. Conclusion In UC patients experiencing a clinical flare, prevalence of gastrointestinal infections with QIAstat-Dx® Gastrointestinal Panel 2 is numerically higher than patients in remission. Further studies are needed to investigate whether increased detection could influence the clinical outcomes of IBD patients and time and costs for the healthcare system.

Development of a single nucleotide polymorphism–based strain-identified method for Streptococcus thermophilus CICC 6038 and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus CICC 6047 using pan-genomics analysis

The health benefits conferred by probiotics is specific to individual probiotic strains, highlighting the importance of identifying specific strains for research and production purposes. Streptococcus thermophilus CICC 6038 and Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus CICC 6047 are exceedingly valuable for commercial use with an excellent mixed-culture fermentation. To differentiate these 2 strains from other S. thermophilus and L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus, a specific, sensitive, accurate, rapid, convenient, and cost-effective method is required. In this study, we conducted a pan-genome analysis of S. thermophilus and L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus to identify species-specific core genes, along with strain-specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). These genes were used to develop suitable PCR primers, and the conformity of sequence length and unique SNPs was confirmed by sequencing for qualitative identification at the strain level. The results demonstrated that SNPs analysis of PCR products derived from these primers could distinguish CICC 6038 and CICC 6047 accurately and reproducibly from the other strains of S. thermophilus and L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus, respectively. The strain-specific PCR method based on SNPs herein is universally applicable for probiotics identification. It offers valuable insights into identifying probiotics at the strain level that is fit-for-purpose in quality control and compliance assessment of commercial dairy products.

Design and application of terahertz metamaterial sensor based on bull’s-eye-shaped resonator in detection of hexadecane

Hexadecane, as a kind of typical nonpolar molecule, plays a crucial role in the preparation of reverse micellar solutions, which have been proved to be a suitable tool to overcome water absorption in THz region. In this work, a bull’s-eye-shaped metamaterial sensor is designed, fabricated and used to detect hexadecane by using terahertz spectroscopy. The refraction index and the thickness of the analyte deposited on the resonator were analyzed and discussed by simulating. Then we test whether the combination of the sensor with hexadecane could improve the sensitivity, and verify the sensing properties of the bull's-eye-shaped metamaterial, achieving a frequency shift of approximately 0.14 THz. This approach paves the way for future quantitative detection and qualitative identification of cells or other hydrated substances, offering a neoteric pathway in sensing field.

Compact VOC emission test chamber

The publication presents the test method and construction of a compact VOC emission test chamber. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are mainly occur in paint and construction materials containing chemical resins, bitumen, binders, adhesives, etc., as well as residues of unreacted monomers. VOC emission testing is carried out on product samples in environmental chambers in accordance with PN-EN ISO 16000-9. The developed chamber, together with a proprietary control and test parameter acquisition system, allows testing at a stabilized temperature and humidity of air washing over the sample at a specified rate. Qualitative identification and quantitative testing of compounds present in the air inside chambers is carried out using a chromatograph, and the test results are compared with regulations on permissible chemical pollutants in the air of buildings and in atmospheric air. The developed chamber with horizontal sample loading is another version of VOC chambers, developed in response to market demands, offered and implemented in research laboratories by the Łukasiewicz Institute for Sustainable Technologies in Radom.

Analysis of Whole-Genome facilitates rapid and precise identification of fungal species.

Fungal identification is a cornerstone of fungal research, yet traditional molecular methods struggle with rapid and accurate onsite identification, especially for closely related species. To tackle this challenge, we introduce a universal identification method called Analysis of whole GEnome (AGE). AGE includes two key steps: bioinformatics analysis and experimental practice. Bioinformatics analysis screens candidate target sequences named Targets within the genome of the fungal species and determines specific Targets by comparing them with the genomes of other species. Then, experimental practice using sequencing or non-sequencing technologies would confirm the results of bioinformatics analysis. Accordingly, AGE obtained more than 1,000,000 qualified Targets for each of the 13 fungal species within the phyla Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Next, the sequencing and genome editing system validated the ultra-specific performance of the specific Targets; especially noteworthy is the first-time demonstration of the identification potential of sequences from unannotated genomic regions. Furthermore, by combining rapid isothermal amplification and phosphorothioate-modified primers with the option of an instrument-free visual fluorescence method, AGE can achieve qualitative species identification within 30 min using a single-tube test. More importantly, AGE holds significant potential for identifying closely related species and differentiating traditional Chinese medicines from their adulterants, especially in the precise detection of contaminants. In summary, AGE opens the door for the development of whole-genome-based fungal species identification while also providing guidance for its application in plant and animal kingdoms.

A native mass spectrometry approach to qualitatively elucidate interfacial epitopes of transient protein-protein interactions.

Native mass spectrometric analysis of TPR2A and GrpE with unpurified peptides derived from limited proteolysis of their respective PPI partners (HSP90 C-terminus and DnaK) facilitated efficient, qualitative identification of interfacial epitopes involved in transient PPI formation. Application of this approach can assist in elucidating interfaces of currently uncharacterised transient PPIs.

Qualitative Identification of Intervening Factors Affecting Digital Marketing Strategies in Successful Iranian Startups

Qualitative Identification of Intervening Factors Affecting Digital Marketing Strategies in Successful Iranian Startups

A Flash Qualitative Identification Method for the Specific Component in a Mixture Based on Diode Array Detector

This paper proposes a new method of flash qualitative identification (FQI) to qualitatively identify a certain target component from a mixture within half a second by disusing the analytical column, which is a time-consuming unit in current chromatography instruments. First, a Noised Spectrum Identification (NSI) model was constructed for the data set generated directly by diode array detector (DAD) without the process in an analytical column. Then, a method called vector error algorithm (VEA) was proposed to generate an error according to the DAD data set for a mixture and a specific spectrum for the target component to be identified. A criterion based on the error generated by the VEA is used to give a judgement of whether the specific spectrum exists in the DAD data set. Several simulations demonstrate the high performance of the FQI method, and an experiment for three known materials was carried out to validate the effectiveness of this method. The results show that the NSI model concurs with the real experiment result; therefore, the error generated by the VEA was an effective criterion to identify a specific component qualitatively, and the FQI method could finish the identification task within half a second.

A distinctive and proficient fluorescent switch for ratiometric recognition of the menacing cyanide ion: biological studies on MDA-MB-231 cells.

A new fluorescent ratiometric switch (BOHB) was developed for swift and selective detection of cyanide ions in aqueous media without any interference from other competitive anions. Upon gradual addition of cyanide ions into the probe solution, a prominent fluorescence color change from yellow to cyan was observed under a UV chamber. The fluorescence changes thus observed were ratiometric, and the detection limit of this new probe was found to be (22.1 ± 0.89) μM, suggesting that the efficiency of BOHB for the detection of cyanide ions is brilliant even at a minute level. The blue shift in fluorescence intensity upon the addition of cyanide ions was attributed to the deprotonation mechanism of acidic protons present in BOHB. This phenomenon was further explored using 1H-NMR study, which supported the mechanism. Further, stability study was performed over a period of 5 days to prominently establish the stability of BOHB. The probe is also highly capable of recognizing CN- within a very short time-span (almost 15 seconds), thereby making it a brilliant fluorescent switch for the swift recognition of CN-. Furthermore, BOHB was employed for real water sample analysis to display its practical application. Besides, the easy-to-prepare dipstick experiment provides a simple, reusable and recyclable protocol for the suitable qualitative identification of CN-. Lastly, triple negative breast adenocarcinoma (MDA-MB-231) cells were made susceptible to CN- sensing in a biological system, thereby making BOHB a biomarker tool.

The design, synthesis and application of metal-organic framework-based fluorescence sensors.

Fluorescence-based chemical sensors have garnered significant attention due to their rapid response, high sensitivity, cost-effectiveness and ease of operation. Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been extensively utilized as platforms for constructing fluorescence sensors, owing to their ultra-high porosity, flexible tunability, and excellent luminescent properties. This feature article summarizes the progress made mainly by our research group in recent years in the construction strategies, principles, and types of MOF sensors, as well as their applications in quantitative sensing, qualitative identification analysis, and multimodal/multifunctional analysis. In addition, the challenges and an outlook on the future progression of MOF-based sensors are discussed, highlighting how these studies can contribute to addressing these issues. Hopefully, this feature article can provide some valuable guidance for the construction and application of MOFs in fluorescence sensing, thereby broadening their practical applications.

ANALISIS BIAYA DAN PENGUKURAN KUALITAS HIDUP YANG DIUKUR MENGUNAKAN INSTRUMEN EQ-5D PADA PASIEN PENYAKIT GAGAL GINJAL KRONIS YANG MENJALANI PENGOBATAN HEMODIALISIS

Antibacterial tests have been carried out on the oil and water from the distillation of ylang-ylang flowers [Cananga odorata (L.) Hook.F. & Thoms] on the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis and equivalence to the Tetracycline HCl. using the agar diffusion method and qualitative identification of chemical contents profiles using thin layer chromatography (TLC). For the oil part, there are seven stains in sequences, namely pink, dark green, brown, green blue, red purple, light green, and dark purple, with Rf being 0.13, 0.17, 0.20, 0.38; 0.45, 0.53, and 0.70. Meanwhile, for the water part, three stains formed, namely brown, red, purple, and dark purple, with Rf values of 0.20, 0.45, and 0.70. The equivalent concentration of oil parts for the test solution for the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis with the reference Tetracycline HCl was 0.563, 0.724, and 0.857ppm. Meanwhile, the equivalent concentration for the water part was 0.413, 0.390 and 0.368ppm. This analysis found that for the oil part of the test solution, there was a significant difference in the inhibitory power of the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis. At the same time, there was no significant difference in the water.