Real-time Instrument Research Articles

A Commentary to Christine Hernández's astronomical interpretation of Skybearer Almanac in Borgia 49a-52a

In a 1992 article, V. Bricker and H. Bricker detail their historical approach to dating and decoding codical almanacs in the Maya codices that lack explicit Long Count dates. Astronomical and seasonal imagery are the key to their methodology. In honor of their work, I apply their method to an almanac in the highland Mexican Borgia Codex. After a discussion of Venus iconography identified in the Maya and Borgia Group codices, I discuss how similar astronomical imagery in the almanac on Borgia 49a-52a, 53b can be used to propose a model that situates the instrument in real time.

Artificial intelligence and ophthalmic surgery.

Artificial intelligence and deep learning have become important tools in extracting data from ophthalmic surgery to evaluate, teach, and aid the surgeon in all phases of surgical management. The purpose of this review is to highlight the ever-increasing intersection of computer vision, machine learning, and ophthalmic microsurgery. Deep learning algorithms are being applied to help evaluate and teach surgical trainees. Artificial intelligence tools are improving real-time surgical instrument tracking, phase segmentation, as well as enhancing the safety of robotic-assisted vitreoretinal surgery. Similar to strides appreciated in ophthalmic medical disease, artificial intelligence will continue to become an important part of surgical management of ocular conditions. Machine learning applications will help push the boundaries of what surgeons can accomplish to improve patient outcomes.

Low level SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in plasma samples from a cohort of Nigerians: Implications for blood transfusion.

The present global pandemic triggered by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has lingered for over a year in its devastating effects. Diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently established with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test by means of oropharyngeal-, nasopharyngeal-, anal-swabs, sputum and blood plasma. However, oral and nasal swabs are more commonly used. This study, therefore, assessed sensitivity and specificity of plasma as a diagnostic in comparison with a combination of oral and nasal swab samples, and the implications for blood transfusion. Oropharyngeal (OP) and nasopharyngeal (NP) swab samples were obtained from 125 individuals suspected to have COVID-19 and stored in viral transport medium (VTM) tubes. Ten millilitres of blood samples in EDTA were also obtained by venepuncture and spun to obtain plasma. Viral RNA was obtained from both swabs and plasma by manual extraction with Qiagen QIAamp viral RNA Mini Kit. Detection was done using a real time fluorescent RT-qPCR BGI kit, on a QuantStudio 3 real-time PCR instrument. Average age of study participants was 41 years, with 74 (59.2%) being male. Out of the 125 individuals tested for COVID-19, 75 (60%) were positive by OP/NP swab. However, only 6 (4.8%) had a positive plasma result for COVID-19 with median Ct value of 32.4. Sensitivity and specificity of RT-PCR SARS-CoV-2 test using plasma was 8% and 100% respectively. There was no false positive recorded, but 69 (55.2%) false negatives were obtained by plasma. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was detected, albeit low (4.8%) in plasma. Plasma is likely not a suitable biological sample to diagnose acute SARS-CoV-2 infection. The implication of transfusing blood in this era of COVID-19 needs further investigations.

All‐in‐One DNA Extraction Tube for Facilitated Real‐Time Detection of Infectious Pathogens

An "all-in-one tube" platform is developed, where the genetic analysis involving DNA extraction, amplification, and detection can be performed in a single tube. The all-in-one tube consists of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tube in which the inner surface is conformally modified with a tertiary-amine-containing polymer to generate a strong electrostatic interaction with DNA. The all-in-one tube provides high DNA capture efficiency exceeding 80% from Escherichia coli O157: H7 pathogen at a wide range of DNA amount from 0.003 to 3ng. Indeed, the use of the surface-functionalized PCR tube enables direct amplification and detection of the surface-captured DNA without the modification of standard real-time PCR instrument. Besides, this platform has sensitivity, selectivity, and reliability enough for accurate detection at the minimal infective dose of both gram-positive and negative pathogens. The all-in-one tube enables the direct molecular diagnosis, substantially reducing the labor-intensive pathogen detection steps while providing high compatibility with the currently established real-time PCR instruments, and illustrates its on-site applicability with convenience expandable to various genetic analyses including food safety testing, forensic analysis, and clinical diagnosis.

Characteristics of brake wear particle (BWP) emissions under various test driving cycles

The characteristics of brake wear particle (BWP) emissions were investigated under five driving cycles (WLTP, NEDC, FTP, 3h-LACT, and WLTP-Brake) with a brake dynamometer. The gravimetric method and real-time particle measurement instruments (APS, OPC, DustTrak, and QCM) were used to measure the BWPs. As a result, the mass concentrations of BWPs measured by APS were similar to the gravimetric method results. However, OPC and DustTrak underestimated the mass concentration of BWPs compared to the gravimetric method results. The QCM was unfavorable for measuring the BWPs because a significant number of particles abruptly inflowed into the QCM during a short moment of braking. The density of BWPs was observed to be larger than 1.0 g/cm3 because the optical mode diameter of the BWPs was smaller than the aerodynamic mode diameter. The BWP emissions were shown to be proportional to the brake dissipation energy and brake initial velocity of each driving cycle. Although the same dissipation energy was applied by braking, more BWPs were found to be emitted at high initial velocity condition. Because, BWPs already deposited on brake disc and pad was emitted as new generated BWPs at high initial velocity condition. When the value obtained by multiplying the dissipation energy by the 3.8th power of the initial velocity was compared to the PM emission of the BWPs, the correlation was more obvious than when only considering the dissipation energy.

Evaluation of mobile real-time polymerase chain reaction tests for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), calls for prompt and accurate diagnosis and rapid turnaround time for test results to limit transmission. Here, we evaluated two independent molecular assays, the Biomeme SARS-CoV-2 test, and the Precision Biomonitoring TripleLock SARS-CoV-2 test on a field-deployable point-of-care real-time PCR instrument, Franklin three9, in combination with Biomeme M1 Sample Prep Cartridge Kit for RNA 2.0 (M1) manual extraction system for rapid, specific, and sensitive detection of SARS-COV-2 in cell culture, human, and animal clinical samples. The Biomeme SARS-CoV-2 assay, which simultaneously detects two viral targets, the orf1ab and S genes, and the Precision Biomonitoring TripleLock SARS-CoV-2 assay that targets the 5′ untranslated region (5′ UTR) and the envelope (E) gene of SARS-CoV-2 were highly sensitive and detected as low as 15 SARS-CoV-2 genome copies per reaction. In addition, the two assays were specific and showed no cross-reactivity with Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) virus, and other common human respiratory viruses and bacterial pathogens. Also, both assays were highly reproducible across different operators and instruments. When used to test animal samples, both assays equally detected SARS-CoV-2 genetic materials in the swabs from SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters. The M1 lysis buffer completely inactivated SARS-CoV-2 within 10 min at room temperature enabling safe handling of clinical samples. Collectively, these results show that the Biomeme and Precision Biomonitoring TripleLock SARS-CoV-2 mobile testing platforms could reliably and promptly detect SARS-CoV-2 in both human and animal clinical samples in approximately an hour and can be used in remote areas or health care settings not traditionally serviced by a microbiology laboratory.

In-situ real-time seismogeodesy by integrating multi-GNSS and accelerometers

The seismogeodetic technology can detect earthquake caused displacements in real time by combining accelerometers with GNSS instruments. We introduce an in-situ real-time seismogeodetic instrument: Strong Motion Accelerographs with GNSS 2000 (SMAG2000). It adopts a near-real-time smoothing algorithm and advanced loosely- and tightly-coupled algorithms. This study discusses the characteristics of the aforementioned algorithms and evaluates their performance by kinematic experiments. The minimum RMS of the differences between the solutions and the reference motions reaches 0.2 cm and the cross-correlation coefficient is up to 0.99. The smoothing algorithm enhances the accuracy by over 30% relative to the unsmoothed position estimates. A further comparison with other real-time seismogeodetic instruments: Trimble SG160-09, and SIO Geodetic Module and MEMS Accelerometer Package (SIO-GAP), was also conducted. Although the instruments all can monitor vibrations successfully, SMAG2000 has the advantage of realizing different advanced algorithms in situ in terms of possible modes of operation.

Review of the Newly Developed, Mobile Optical Sensors for Real-Time Measurement of the Atmospheric Particulate Matter Concentration.

Due to the adverse effects on human health and the environment, air quality monitoring, specifically particulate matter (PM), has received increased attention over the last decades. Most of the research and policy actions have been focused on decreasing PM pollution and the development of air monitoring technologies, resulting in a decline of total ambient PM concentrations. For these reasons, there is a continually increasing interest in mobile, low-cost, and real-time PM detection instruments in both indoor and outdoor environments. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no recent literature review on the development of newly designed mobile and compact optical PM sensors. With this aim, this paper gives an overview of the most recent advances in mobile optical particle counters (OPCs) and camera-based optical devices to detect particulate matter concentration. Firstly, the paper summarizes the particulate matter effects on human health and the environment and introduces the major particulate matter classes, sources, and characteristics. Then, it illustrates the different theories, detection methods, and operating principles of the newly developed portable optical sensors based on light scattering (OPCs) and image processing (camera-based sensors), including their advantages and disadvantages. A discussion concludes the review by comparing different novel optical devices in terms of structures, parameters, and detection sensitivity.

Vitamin D and VDR Gene Polymorphisms’ Association with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Lithuanian Population

Background and Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune, multi-factorial disease, in which environmental and genetic factors play a major role. RA is possibly linked to vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms, and research demonstrates that FokI variant susceptibility is associated with increased disease risk among Caucasians. The aim of this study was to evaluate vitamin D deficiency prevalence and its correlation to RA clinical parameters, and to determine the possible association of VDR gene polymorphisms and RA susceptibility in the Lithuanian population. Materials and Methods: Overall, 206 RA patients and 180 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled at Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos after informed consent was obtained. The disease activity score 28 C-reactive protein (DAS28 CRP), rheumatoid arthritis impact of disease (RAID) score, and health assessment questionnaire (HAQ) were recorded in RA patients, and 25(OH)D serum levels were evaluated by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay for all subjects. Four VDR gene polymorphisms, BsmI, FokI, ApaI, and TaqI, were assessed using real-time PCR instruments and genotyping assays in both groups. Results: The study registered a high prevalence of 25(OH)D deficiency (<50 nmol/L) in RA patients (61.55% (n = 127)). The mean serum concentration in RA patients (44.96 ± 21.92 (nmol/L)) was significantly lower than in the healthy controls (54.90 ± 22.82 (nmol/L)), p < 0.0001. A significant inverse correlation between vitamin D level, DAS28 CRP, and HAQ scores was confirmed in RA patients, with p < 0.05. Still, there was no significant association between the overall risk of RA disease for any allele or genotype of the four VDR loci tested. Conclusions: The study confirmed that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among RA patients and the 25(OH)D level is significantly lower compared with healthy controls. Lower vitamin D concentration was related with increased disease activity and disability scores. However, genetic analysis of four VDR polymorphisms did not confer the susceptibility to RA in Lithuanian population.

Ableton Live 11

Review| April 01 2021 Ableton Live 11 Ableton Live 11. Ableton AG. URL: http://ableton.com Ethan Hein Ethan Hein ETHAN HEIN is a Doctoral Fellow in Music Education at New York University. He teaches music education, technology, and theory at NYU and the New School. He is coauthor of Electronic Music School: A Contemporary Approach to Teaching Musical Creativity (Oxford University Press, forthcoming in 2021). He worked with the NYU Music Experience Design Lab to develop the Groove Pizza, which has been used by over one million people around the world. Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of the American Musicological Society (2021) 74 (1): 214–225. https://doi.org/10.1525/jams.2021.74.1.214 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Ethan Hein; Ableton Live 11. Journal of the American Musicological Society 1 April 2021; 74 (1): 214–225. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/jams.2021.74.1.214 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentJournal of the American Musicological Society Search Ableton Live is a widely used digital audio workstation (DAW).1 The program’s name refers to its intended use as a performance instrument for electronic musicians, a way to literally play the studio as an instrument in real time. This practice aligns with Brian Eno’s concept of “the studio as compositional tool.”2 Ableton Live’s main user base consists of electronic dance music and hip-hop producers, and it is also becoming common in experimental and academic circles. For example, the composer Morton Subotnick uses Live on stage to loop and process the output of his modular synthesizer. At the New School in New York where I teach, Live is the default DAW among students and faculty alike. This review evaluates Live’s utility for research and teaching in music studies. Some of Live’s useful features are generic to all DAWs: visualizing and playing back audio and MIDI data; segmenting, annotating, and... You do not currently have access to this content.

Laser-Generated Leaky Acoustic Wave Imaging for Interventional Guidewire Guidance.

Ultrasound (US) is widely used to visualize both tissue and the positions of surgical instruments in real time during surgery. Previously we proposed a new method to exploit US imaging and laser-generated leaky acoustic waves (LAWs) for needle visualization. Although successful, that method only detects the position of a needle tip, with the location of the entire needle deduced from knowing that the needle is straight. The purpose of the current study was to develop a beamforming-based method for the direct visualization of objects. The approach can be applied to objects with arbitrary shapes, such as the guidewires that are commonly used in interventional guidance. With this method, illumination by a short laser pulse generates photoacoustic waves at the top of the guidewire that propagate down its metal surface. These waves then leak into the surrounding tissue, which can be detected by a US array transducer. The time of flight consists of two parts: 1) the propagation time of the guided waves on the guidewire and 2) the propagation time of the US that leaks into the tissue. In principle, an image of the guidewire can be formed based on array beamforming by taking the propagation time on the metal into consideration. Furthermore, we introduced directional filtering and a matched filter to compress the dispersion signal associated with long propagation times. The results showed that guidewires could be detected at depths of at least 70 mm. The maximum detectable angle was 56.3°. LAW imaging with a 1268-mm-long guidewire was also demonstrated. The proposed method has considerable potential in new clinical applications.

Lightweight Deep Neural Network for Real-Time Instrument Semantic Segmentation in Robot Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery

Vision-based detection and tracking of surgical instrument is attractive because it relies purely on existing setup already in the operating scenario for Robot assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS). While significant advanced approaches have been made in recent years, how to effectively carry out the efficient algorithm in the abdominal environment for real-time surgical instrument semantic segmentation is still a fundamental challenging topic. For this purpose, this letter reports the development of a surgical instrument semantic segmentation method for RMIS scenario. We have demonstrated a novel lightweight deep neural network to exploit surgical instrument semantic segmentation that meets real-time, accuracy and robustness. Specifically, our model contains an innovative design of two stages lightweight network by integrating the Ghost modules with MobileNetV3. Given that reducing computation cost with holding high accuracy is crucial for the task, in the first stage, Ghost module is explored to model the bottleneck for extracting the semantic features. We also design the lightweight Segmentation head as the second stage to further reduce computation cost, the model outputs a pixel-by-pixel mask to represent the surgical instrument parts semantic segmentation results. Promising validation has been conducted to evaluate the proposed lightweight network, the results report that the method can exhibit the outstanding surgical instrument semantic segmentation and surpass existing algorithms in the real-time performance with holding the high accuracy. The letter demonstrates the feasibility to perform real-time surgical instrument detection by taking advantage of the components of surgical robot system, contributing to the reference for further surgical intelligence.

Deep Learning Assisted Robotic Magnetic Anchored and Guided Endoscope for Real-Time Instrument Tracking

This letter presents the first case of implementing deep-learning based instrument tracking on a magnetic anchored surgical endoscope. The compact magnetic actuated endoscope has a unique structure that allows operations near the anchor surface, ideal for video assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS). Autonomous tool tracking alleviates surgeon's burden and prevents human errors from muscle fatigues or miscommunication. However, conventional methods rely on color labels or require modification to instrument, and has risk of failure due to occlusion of marker. In this letter, we combine deep-learning instrument detection with visual servoing control. This allows the magnetic endoscope to track surgical tools automatically, without color markers or instrument modification. We used a modified TernausNet-16 network that can detect surgical instrument in real time, with a small training dataset of 1846 images. Experiments show that the magnetic endoscope can effectively track a marker-less instrument. It can also track continuous motions of a target traveling at 40 mm $/$ s. The performance was also verified by completing mock-up surgical task in a simulated thoracic cavity.

Single-copy detection of somatic variants from solid and liquid biopsy

Accurate detection of somatic variants, against a background of wild-type molecules, is essential for clinical decision making in oncology. Existing approaches, such as allele-specific real-time PCR, are typically limited to a single target gene and lack sensitivity. Alternatively, next-generation sequencing methods suffer from slow turnaround time, high costs, and are complex to implement, typically limiting them to single-site use. Here, we report a method, which we term Allele-Specific PYrophosphorolysis Reaction (ASPYRE), for high sensitivity detection of panels of somatic variants. ASPYRE has a simple workflow and is compatible with standard molecular biology reagents and real-time PCR instruments. We show that ASPYRE has single molecule sensitivity and is tolerant of DNA extracted from plasma and formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) samples. We also demonstrate two multiplex panels, including one for detection of 47 EGFR variants. ASPYRE presents an effective and accessible method that simplifies highly sensitive and multiplexed detection of somatic variants.

Association between exposure to different stone aggregates from asphalt and blood coagulability: A human exposure chamber study.

A large fraction of particulate matter (PM), especially PM10, concentrations are due to non-exhaust emissions, such as road abrasion and wear on tires and brake pads. Concentrating on road abrasion, we aimed to investigate blood coagulability in healthy adults after exposure to two types of stone materials commonly used in asphalt on Norwegian roads. This study followed a randomized, double-blind, cross-over study design. Using an exposure chamber, 24 healthy young volunteers were exposed to aggregates of two different types of rocks and placebo dust: quartz diorite, rhomb porphyry, and lactose (placebo dust). Each exposure session lasted for 4 hours (h), and blood samples were collected before exposure (baseline), 4h post-exposure, and 24h post-exposure to analyse potential changes in the von Willebrand factor (vWF) as well as of fibrinogen, d-dimer, leukocytes, and thrombocytes. The dust concentration in the exposure chamber was measured with real-time instruments and gravimetric samples of total dust, respirable dust, PM10, PM2.5, and ultrafine particles (UFP). The results were analysed using a linear mixed-effect model. Leukocyte blood counts increased post-exposure for all exposure materials; however, none of the increases were statistically significant. The concentration of fibrinogen increased after exposure to quartz diorite, while it decreased after exposures to rhomb porphyry and lactose. Type of material was a statistically significant explanatory variable for the concentration of fibrinogen, with the most significant increase occurring 24h post-exposure to quartz diorite. After exposure to the three materials, vWF decreased. For the thrombocytes, an increase in blood count was observed 24h post-exposure to quartz diorite and rhomb porphyry, with a modest (p=0.09) positive association for quartz diorite. Although the results are limited, we conclude that the different effects observed post-exposure to quartz diorite support considering potential health effects when choosing materials in the production of asphalt.

Intraoperative real-time navigation and intraoperative three-dimensional imaging for patient-specific total temporomandibular joint replacement

Customized solutions for replacement of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) along with surgical guides enable precise and fast transfer of the virtual plan to the patient. However, these guides lack information on screw vectors and length, and well-defined borders for bony resections towards the medial skull base. This retrospective study was performed to investigate the feasibility and benefit of real-time navigation and intraoperative three-dimensional imaging during total TMJ replacement (TJR), as well as patient clinical outcomes. Between 2016 and 2020, 26 customized prostheses were implanted in 21 patients either with or without real-time navigation and instrument tracking. The clinical, surgical, radiological, and navigational data were analysed. The accuracy of navigation registration with instrument tracking, precision of screw insertion, and implant and screw positions were analysed by fusion of the virtual plan and surgical outcome. Real-time navigation aided orientation during lateral skull base dissection and resection. However, the results of real-time navigation-aided drilling were inconclusive regarding vector and length control. At a mean 15.3±3.0 months of follow-up, average mouth opening had improved from 21.69±2.80mm to 36.40±1.25mm; the average pain score decreased from 6.18±0.74 to 1.06±0.52. Thus, intraoperative real-time navigation for TJR assists lateral skull base dissection and resection.

Application of comparative genomics in the development of DNA probes to detect Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis

Primer-probe sets to detect Bacillus cereus and/or B. subtilis in food products were developed based on panX (a pan-genome analysis tool). Data for 60 B. cereus strains and 131 B. subtilis strains retrieved from the NCBI RefSeq database were analyzed by panX. Primer-probe sets for B. cereus (ccpA) and B. subtilis (cotQ) were developed by comparing the core genomes of the two bacteria. The developed primer-probe sets’ sensitivity and selectivity were identified using 45 strains, including ten B. cereus, five B. subtilis, 13 non-B. cereus and non-B. subtilis strains, and 17 non-Bacillus strains using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The developed primer-probe sets displayed high sensitivity and selectivity for B. cereus and B. subtilis, validated with two different real-time PCR instruments. PCR analysis using the developed primer-probe showed high efficiency in buffer and milk samples. These results indicate that the primer-probe sets developed based on the panX analysis can be used effectively for detecting B. cereus and/or B. subtilis in food products.

Validación de una técnica de PCR dúplex usando el gen E y RNasa P para el diagnóstico de SARS-CoV-2

IntroductionReverse transcriptase - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the standard technique for SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis. The World Health Organization recommends the Charité-Berlin protocol for COVID-19 diagnosis, which requires triple PCR, limiting the process capability of laboratories and delaying the results. In order to reduce these limitations, a duplex PCR is validated for the detection of the E and RNase P genes. MethodsWe compared the limit of detection, sensitivity and specificity of the duplex PCR technique (E gene and RNase P) against the monoplex standard (E gene) in RNA samples from a SARS-CoV-2 isolate and 88 clinical specimens with previously known results. The repeatability and reproducibility of the threshold cycle values (Ct) were determined in two independent laboratories of the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad de Antioquia, using different reagents and real time instruments. ResultsThere were no significant differences in the Ct results between both techniques (p = 0.84). Using the monoplex PCR of E gene as a reference, the interrater reliability analysis showed similarity between the two techniques, with a kappa coefficient of 0.89, the sensitivity and the specificity of duplex PCR were 90% and 87%, respectively. ConclusionsDuplex PCR does not affect the sensitivity and specificity reported by the Charité, Berlin protocol, being a useful tool for SARS-CoV-2 screening in clinical samples.

Handheld Point-of-Care System for Rapid Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Extracted RNA in under 20 min.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health emergency characterized by the high rate of transmission and ongoing increase of cases globally. Rapid point-of-care (PoC) diagnostics to detect the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2, are urgently needed to identify and isolate patients, contain its spread and guide clinical management. In this work, we report the development of a rapid PoC diagnostic test (<20 min) based on reverse transcriptase loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) and semiconductor technology for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 from extracted RNA samples. The developed LAMP assay was tested on a real-time benchtop instrument (RT-qLAMP) showing a lower limit of detection of 10 RNA copies per reaction. It was validated against extracted RNA from 183 clinical samples including 127 positive samples (screened by the CDC RT-qPCR assay). Results showed 91% sensitivity and 100% specificity when compared to RT-qPCR and average positive detection times of 15.45 ± 4.43 min. For validating the incorporation of the RT-LAMP assay onto our PoC platform (RT-eLAMP), a subset of samples was tested (n = 52), showing average detection times of 12.68 ± 2.56 min for positive samples (n = 34), demonstrating a comparable performance to a benchtop commercial instrument. Paired with a smartphone for results visualization and geolocalization, this portable diagnostic platform with secure cloud connectivity will enable real-time case identification and epidemiological surveillance.

Peak Inhalation Exposure Metrics Used in Occupational Epidemiologic and Exposure Studies.

Peak exposures are of concern because they can potentially overwhelm normal defense mechanisms and induce adverse health effects. Metrics of peak exposure have been used in epidemiologic and exposure studies, but consensus is lacking on its definition. The relevant characteristics of peak exposure are dependent upon exposure patterns, biokinetics of exposure, and disease mechanisms. The objective of this review was to summarize the use of peak metrics in epidemiologic and exposure studies. A comprehensive search of Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and NIOSHTIC-2 databases was conducted using keywords related to peak exposures. The retrieved references were reviewed and selected for indexing if they included a peak metric and met additional criteria. Information on health outcomes and peak exposure metrics was extracted from each reference. A total of 1,215 epidemiologic or exposure references were identified, of which 182 were indexed and summarized. For the 72 epidemiologic studies, the health outcomes most frequently evaluated were: chronic respiratory effects, cancer and acute respiratory symptoms. Exposures were frequently assessed using task-based and full-shift time-integrated methods, qualitative methods, and real-time instruments. Peak exposure summary metrics included the presence or absence of a peak event, highest exposure intensity and frequency greater than a target. Peak metrics in the 110 exposure studies most frequently included highest exposure intensity, average short-duration intensity, and graphical presentation of the real-time data (plots). This review provides a framework for considering biologically relevant peak exposure metrics for epidemiologic and exposure studies to help inform risk assessment and exposure mitigation.