Luciferase reporter phage phAE85 for rapid detection of rifampicin resistance in clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Objective:To evaluate luciferase reporter phage(LRP)phAE85 in rapid detection of rifampicin resistance in a region where TB is endemic.Methods:One hundred and ninety primary isolates on Lowenstein-Jensen medium were tested.Middlebrook 7H9 complete medium with and without rifampicin at 2μg/mL was inoculated with standard inoculum from suspensions of the clinical isolate.After incubation for 72 h,LRP was added.Following 4 h of further incubation,light output from both control and test was measured as relative light units.Strains exhibiting a reduction of less than 50%relative light units in the drug containing vial compared to control were classified as resistant.Results were compared with the conventional minimum inhibitory concentration method(MIC)of drug susceptibility testing.Results:The two methods showed high level of agreement of 97%(CI 0.94,0.99)and P value was 0.000 1.The sensitivity and specificity of LRP assay for detection of rifampicin resistance were 91%h(CI 0.75,0.98)and 99ct(CI0.95,1.00)respectively.Time to detection of resistance by LRP assay was 3 d in comparison with 28 d by the minimum inhibitory concentration method.Conclusions:LRP assay with phAE85 is 99%specific,91%sensitive and is highly reproducible.Thus the assay offers a simple procedure for drug sensitivity testing,within die scope of semi-automation.

Sensitivity Detection Technique and Resistance Risk Assessment of Magnaporthe grisea to Tricyclazole

In vitro detection method for the sensitivity of Magnaporthe grisea to tricyclazole was studied, and the potential resistance risk of blast disease to tricyclazole was assessed. Both EC50 of hyphal melanization (EC50-H) and minimum inhibitive concentration of melanization in appressorial (MIC-A) by inhibitor tricyclazole showed positive correlation to the EC50 of tricyclazole against blast disease tested in vivo, with relative co-efficiency (R5) of 0.8995 and 0.8244, respectively. However, stability and reproducibility of EC50-H were better than those of MIC-A, suggesting that it could be used to detect the sensitivity of M. grisea to tricyclazole in vitro. Tricyclazole sensitivity of the progenies derived from single spores of the most sensitive isolate DY2 and the least sensitive isolate GY6 detected in sensitivity monitoring in 2000 was not stable, with mean EC50 values of 4.4968 μg/mL and 5.4010 ug/mL, respectively, indicating that the difference in EC50 between DY2 and GY6 was not caused probably by resistance variation. EC50 of GY6 did not increase significantly when continuously selected for twenty generations under the selection pressure of tricyclazole in vivo. However, the sensitivity of DY2 was decreased by 10-fold after selected for twenty generations. The results suggested that tricyclazole was still low resistance risk for M. grisea in China.

Molecular Detection and Disease Resistance Identification of Transgenic Wheat with pti5-vp16 Gene

The immature embryos of wheat cultivars Liaochun10, Tiechun1 and Fengqiang3 were bombarded with gold particles coated with pti5 vp16 by gene gun and disease resistant regenerated plants were attained. In order to confirm that the plants are genuine transformed ones, a series of molecular tests were conducted as follows. Firstly, transient GUS expression test on embryos two days after bombardment was done. There were many obvious blue spots produced on the surface of bombarded embryos after GUS staining, in which the maximum reached to 85 blue spots per embryo. Secondly, PCR test was performed with DNA from the regenerated plants obtained after double selection with ppt. 6 plants were found PCR test positive. At last, further verification analysis using dot hybridization and southern blotting was carried out on those PCR positive plants and the strong hybridization signals appeared as expected. All the above tests were uniformly indicated that the disease resistant regenerated plants were true transgenic plants. When inoculated with Blumeria graminis, transgenic wheat plants of PCR positive results were mostly resistant(R) after 7 days, and resis tant, moderate resistant(MR), moderate susceptible(MS) at 14 days respectively. The disease severity of them was distinctively lighter than that of control.

Detection of Veneer Moisture Content by Surface-circle-shaped Resistance

This paper, with veneer as a particularly detected target, deals with a new method for detecting veneer moisture content. Surface resistance is measured by the fixed pressure, circle-shaped point and surface-touched detector. With the help of the computer, the veneer moisture and its distribution will be detected in a faster way with no harm to the veneer surface.

A Resistance Based Biosensor That Utilizes Conductive Microfibers for Microbial Pathogen Detection

Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) is one of the top pathogens of interest for the development of rapid diagnostic systems for food and water samples. The objective of this research is to develop a rapid, novel electrochemical biosensor based on the use of polypropylene microfiber membranes coated with a conductive polypyrrole and antibody functionalized for the biological capture and detection of E. coli O157:H7 inthe field. Using glutaraldehyde, pathogen specific antibodies are covalently attached to conductive microfiber membranes which are then blocked using a 5% bovine serum albumin solution. The functionalized membranes are then exposed to E. coli O157:H7 cells washed in Butterfield’s phosphate buffer and added to a phosphate-buffer electrolyte solution. When a voltage is applied to the system, the presence of the captured pathogen on the fiber surface results in an increase in resistance at the electrotextile electrode surface, indicating a positive result. In this study, the initial resistance of the membrane in the electrochemical system was established and found to range between 5.8 and 13 . The resistance of the system not associated with the electrotextile fibers was calculated to contribute to only 2.8% of the total system resistance, and found not to be significant. A proof of concept experiment was conducted and determined that the electrotextile electrode was able to differentiate between small changes in a solution’s conductivity associated with the presence of E. coli O157:H7 cells over a concentration range of log 0 - 9 CFU/mL.

Molecular Detection of Resistance to Rifampin and Isoniazid among Patients Eligible for Retreatment Regimen in Côte d’Ivoire in 2012

Drug-resistant tuberculosis is an important health problem in Cote d’Ivoire. Patients of category I treatment are based on 2RHZE/4RH regimen. For the patients of category II, the 2RHZES/1RHZE/5HRE regimen is systematically initiated. Study objective was to describe the susceptibility profile to Rifampin and Isoniazid among previously treated patients who are eligible for retreatment and who had received the 2RHZES/1RHZE/5HRE regimen in Cote d’Ivoire with a molecular method in 2012. Two sputum samples were collected to each patient recruited in the reference regional centres for tuberculosis. Sputum samples were decontaminated by NALC method. The DNA extraction was realized with 500 μl of decontaminated sputum sample with smear-positive. MTBDRplus assay version 1.0 was performed according to the manufacturer’s instruction. An internal quality control program with positive and negative controls was implemented for interpretation of results. A total of 278 patients were enrolled, 148 (53.2%) were recurrent TB cases, 118 (42.5%) failure cases, and 12 (4.3%) defaulters. From sputum of previously treated patients, mutli-drug resistant tuberculosis was diagnosed for 60 (69.8%, 95% IC, 60% - 80%) treated with the 2RHZE/4RH regimen, 24 (75%, 95% IC, 60% - 90%) with the 2RHZES/1RHZE/5HRE regimen, 60 (41%, 95% IC, 33% - 49%) recurrent TB cases, and 4 (33.3%) defaulters. The comparison of resistance rates to Rifampin estimated from sputum samples in the categories of treatment failures and the recurrence TB cases showed a statistically significant difference. In Cote d’Ivoire, genotype? MTBDRplus assay has permitted to estimate the prevalence of MDR-TB in categories of previously treated patients for tuberculosis.

Use of Electrical Resistance to Detect the Formation and Decomposition of Methane Hydrate

The changes of electrical resistance （R） were studied experimentally in the process of CH4 hydrate formation and decomposition, using temperature and pressure as the auxiliary detecting methods simultaneously. The experiment results show that R increases with hydrate formation and decreases with hydrate decompositon. R is more sensitive to hydrate formation and decompositon than temperature or pressure, which indicates that the detection of R will be an effective means for detecting natural gas hydrate （NGH） quantitatively.

Rapid Detection of rpoB Gene Mutations in Rif-resistant M.tuberculosis Isolates by Oligonucleotide Microarray

Objective To detect the specific mutations in rpoB gene of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by oligonucleotide microarray. Methods Four wild-type and 8 mutant probes were used to detect rifampin resistant strains. Target DNA of M. tuberculosis was amplified by PCR, hybridized and scanned. Direct sequencing was performed to verify the results of oligonucleotide microarray Results Of the 102 rifampin-resistant strains 98 （96.1%） had mutations in the rpoB genes. Conclusion Oligonucleotide microarray with mutation-specific probes is a reliable and useful tool for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of rifampin resistance in M. tuberculosis isolates.

Establishment of a new quantitative detection approach to adefovir-resistant HBV and its clinical application

AIM:To establish the more feasible and sensitive assessment approach to the detection of adefovir (ADV) resistance-associated hepatitis B virus (HBV) quasispecies.METHODS: Based on the characteristics of rtA181V/T and rtN236T mutations, a new approach based on real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was established for the detection of ADV-resistant HBV quasispecies, total HBV DNA, rtA181 and rtN236 mutations in blood samples from 32 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with unsatisfactory curative effect on ADV and compared with routine HBV DNA sequencing.RESULTS: Both the sensitivity and specificity of this new detection approach to ADV-resistant HBV quasispecies were 100%, which were much higher than those of direct HBV DNA sequencing. The approach was able to detect 0.1% of mutated strains in a total plasmid population. Among the 32 clinical patients, single rtA181 and rtN236T mutation and double rtA181T and rtN236T mutations were detected in 20 and 8, respectively, while ADV-resistant mutations in 6 (including, rtA181V/T mutation alone in 5 patients) and no associated mutations in 26.CONCLUSION: This new approach is more feasible and efficient to detect ADV-resistant mutants of HBV and ADV-resistant mutations before and during ADV treatment with a specificity of 100% and a sensitivity of 100%.

Detection performance and inversion processing of logging-while-drilling extra-deep azimuthal resistivity measurements

We present systematic investigations on the physics,detection performance and inversion of logging-while-drilling extradeep azimuthal resistivity measurements(EDARM).First,the definitions of EDRAM measurements are discussed,followed by the derivation of the attenuation and phase-shift geometrical factors to illustrate the relative contributions of formation units to the observed signals.Then,a new definition of detection depth,which considers the uncertainty of inversion results caused by the data noise,is proposed to quantify the detection capability of ED ARM.Finally,the B ayesian theory associated with Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling is introduced for fast processing of EDARM data.Numerical results show that ED ARM is capable of detecting the azimuth and distance of remote bed boundaries,and the detection capability increases with increasing spacing and resistivity contrast.The EDARM tool can accommodate a large range of formation resistivity and is able to provide the resistivity anisotropy at arbitrary relative dipping angles.In addition,multiple bed boundaries and reservoir images near the borehole are readily obtained by using the Bayesian inversion.

Electric modulation of anisotropic magnetoresistance in Pt/HfO_(2-x)/NiO_(y)/Ni heterojunctions

Electric field control of magnetism through nanoionics has attracted tremendous attention owing to its high efficiency and low power consumption.In solid-state dielectrics,an electric field drives the redistribution of ions to create onedimensional magnetic conductive nanostructures,enabling the realization of intriguing magnetoresistance(MR)effects.Here,we explored the electric-controlled nickel and oxygen ion migration in Pt/HfO_(2-x)/NiO_(y)/Ni heterojunctions for MR modulation.By adjusting the voltage polarity and amplitude,the magnetic conductive filaments with mixed nickel and oxygen vacancy are constructed.This results in the reduction of device resistance by~10^(3)folds,and leads to an intriguing partial asymmetric MR effect.We show that the difference of the device resistance under positive and negative saturation magnetic fields exhibits good linear dependence on the magnetic field angle,which can be used for magnetic field direction detection.Our study suggests the potential of electrically controlled ion migration in creating novel magnetic nanostructures for sensor applications.

Improving tree health assessment accuracy at low temperatures:considering the effect of trunk ice content on electrical resistance and stress wave tomography

Accurate decay detection and health assessment of trees at low temperatures is an important issue for forest management and ecology in cold areas.Low temperature ice formation on tree health assessment is unknown.Because electric resistance tomography and stress wave tomography are two widely used methods for the detection of tree decay,this study investigated the effect of ice content on trunk electrical resistance and stress wave velocity to improve tree health assessment accuracy.Moisture content,trunk electrical resistance and stress wave velocity using time domain reflectometry were carried out on Larix gmelinii and Populus simonii.Ice content is based on moisture content data.The ice content of both species showed a trend of increasing and then decreasing.This was opposite with ambient temperatures.With the decrease of temperatures,daily average ice content increased,but the range narrowed gradually and both electrical resistance and stress wave velocity increased.Both increased rapidly near 0℃,mainly caused by ice formation(phase change and freezing of free water)in live trees.In addition,both are positively correlated with ice content.The results suggest that ice content should be considered for improving the accuracy of tree decay detection and health evaluation using electric resistance tomography and stress wave velocity methods under low temperatures.

Detection of Multi-drug Resistant Acinetobacter Lwoffii Isolated from Soil of Mink Farm

There were 4 Acinetobacter lwoffii obtained from soil samples.The antimicrobial susceptibility of the strains to 16 antimicrobial agents was investigated using K-B method.Three isolates showed the multi-drug resistance.The presence of resistance genes and integrons was determined using PCR.The aadA 1,aac（3＇）-IIc,aph（3＇）-VII,aac（6＇）-Ib,sul2,cat2,floR,and tet（K）genes were detected,respectively.

Detecting the Resistivity Distribution of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Concrete by Electrical Resistance Tomography Method

According to the principle of electrical resistance tomography （ ERT）, the resistivity distribution of the carbon fiber reinforced concrete （CFRC） in the sensing field can be measured by injecting exciting current and measuring the voltage on the sensor electrode arrays installed on the surface of the object. Therefore, measurement of the resistivity distribution of CFRC is divided into first measuring the boundary conditions and then inversely computing the resistivity distribution. To reach this goal, an ERT system was constructed, which is composed of a sensor array unit, a data acquisition unit and an image reconstruction unit. Simulations of static ERT was performed on set-ups with many objects spread in a homogeneous background, and a simulation of dynamic ERT was also done on a rectangular board, the resistivity of which was changed within a small domain of it. Then, the resistivity distribution of a CFRC sample with a circlar hole as the target was detected by the ERT system. Simulation and experimental results show that the reconstructed ERT image reflects the resistivity distribution or the resistivity change of CFRC structure well. Especially, a small change in resistivity can be identified from the reconstructed images in the simulation of dynamic ERT images.

Improving Detectability of Resistive Shorts in FPGA Interconnects

The behavior of resistive short defects in FPGA interconnects is investigated through simulation and theoretical analysis.The results show that these defects result in timing failures and even Boolean faults for small defect resistance values.The best detection situations for large resistance defect happen when the path under test makes a v-to-v′ transition and another path causing short faults remains at value v.Small defects can be detected easily through static analysis.Under the best test situations,the effects of supply voltage and temperature on test results are evaluated.The results verify that lower voltage helps to improve detectability.If short material has positive temperature coefficient,low temperature is better;otherwise,high temperature is better.

SYBR~ Green qPCR Screening Methods for Detection of Anti-herbicide Genes in Genetically Modified Processed Products

The use of genetically modified organisms （GMOs） as food products becomes more and more widespread. The European Union has implemented a set of very strict procedures for the approval to grow, import and/or utilize GMOs as food or food ingredients. Thus, analytical methods for detection of GMOs are necessary in order to verify compliance with labelling requirements. There are few effective screening methods for processed GM （genetically modified） products. Three anti-herbicide genes （CP4- EPSPS, BAR and PAT） are common exogenous genes used in commercialized transgenic soybean, maize and rice, In the present study, a new SYBR Green qPCR screening method was developed to simultaneously detect the three exogenous anti-herbicide genes and one endogenous gene in a run. We tested seven samples of representative processed products （soya lecithin, soya protein powder, chocolate beverage, infant rice cereal, maize protein powder, maize starch, and maize jam） using the developed method, and amplicons of endogenous gene and transgenic fragments were obtained from all the processed products, and the sensitivity was 0.1%. These results indicated that SYBR Green qPCR screening method was appropriate for qualitative detection of transgenic soybean, maize and rice in processed products.

4.3 THz quantum-well photodetectors with high detection sensitivity

We demonstrate a high performance GaAs/AlGaAs-based quantum-well photodetector(QWP)device with a peak response frequency of 4.3 THz.The negative differential resistance(NDR)phenomenon is found in the dark currentvoltage(I-V)curve in the current sweeping measurement mode,from which the breakdown voltage is determined.The photocurrent spectra and blackbody current responsivities at different voltages are measured.Based on the experimental data,the peak responsivity of 0.3 A/W(at 0.15 V,8 K)is derived,and the detection sensitivity is higher than 10^(11)Jones,which is in the similar level as that of the commercialized liquid-helium-cooled silicon bolometers.We attribute the high detection performance of the device to the small ohmic contact resistance of-2Ωand the big breakdown bias.

Gas pipeline explosion resistance technology

Based on the features and requirements of gas drainage system, an optimized explosion resistance technology is done after a comprehensive analysis and research about the triple IR （Infrared Ray） flame detection technology, explosion resistance valve technology and explosion resistance control technology. An intelligent PLC （Programmable Logic Controller） resistance control system is designed which can cut offthe gas branch quickly and accurately, and the controller have automatic pressure maintaining function, valve rotation limit function, remote and local control interlock function. The reliability and rationality of explosion resistance technology is verified by gas pipeline explosion propagation and resistance simulation test. Overall response time of explosion resistance system is less than 100ms, and the spread of fire in gas pipeline can be prevented effectively.

Wrist circumference: A new marker for insulin resistance in African women with polycystic ovary syndrome

BACKGROUND Insulin resistance(IR)is the main complication found in 35%-80%of women with polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS).However,there is no definite consensus regarding which marker to use for its assessment in PCOS women.Research has shown that hyperinsulinemia is correlated with increased bone mass.Given that most women with PCOS are insulin resistant,which is independent from body fat and characterized by hyperinsulinemia,it could be hypothesized that there would be an increased bone mass in the patient as a result.Subsequently,increased bone mass could be measured using the wrist circumference method.AIM To assess the wrist circumference as an easy-to-detect marker of IR in Congolese women with PCOS.METHODS Seventy-two Congolese women with PCOS and seventy-one controls from the same ethnic group,were enrolled in the study(mean age 24.33±5.36 years).Fasting biochemical parameters,and the Homeostasis Model Assessment of insulin resistance(HOMA-IR)and body composition were evaluated.The nondominant wrist circumference was measured manually,as was the waist circumference(WC),hip circumference,height and weight.Calculated measures included evaluation of body mass index(BMI),Waist-to-Height(WHtR)and Waist-to-hip ratio(WHR).In addition,body composition was assessed by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis using a body fat analyzer.RESULTS The non-dominant wrist circumference was more closely correlated with HOMAIR(r=0.346;P=0.003)and was the best anthropometrical marker correlated with IR(P=0.011)compared with other anthropometrical markers in women with PCOS:Dominant Wrist Circumference(r=0.315;P=0.007),Waist Circumference(WC)(r=0.259;P=0.028),BMI(r=0.285;P=0.016),WHR(r=0.216;P=0,068)and WHtR(r=0.263;P=0.027).The diagnostic accuracy of the non-dominant wrist circumference for the presence or absence of IR using Receiver-operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve was 0.72.A cutoff value for the non-dominant wrist circumference of 16.3 cm was found to be the best predictor of IR in Congolese women with PCOS.CONCLUSION Non-dominant wrist circumference is,to date,the best anthropometrical marker of IR in Sub-Saharan African women with PCOS.It could be suggested as an easy-to-detect marker for assessing IR.

Parametrically Optimal, Robust and Tree-Search Detection of Sparse Signals

We consider sparse signals embedded in additive white noise. We study parametrically optimal as well as tree-search sub-optimal signal detection policies. As a special case, we consider a constant signal and Gaussian noise, with and without data outliers present. In the presence of outliers, we study outlier resistant robust detection techniques. We compare the studied policies in terms of error performance, complexity and resistance to outliers.