Advancing healthcare through laboratory on a chip technology:Transforming microorganism identification and diagnostics

In a recent case report in the World Journal of Clinical Cases,emphasized the crucial role of rapidly and accurately identifying pathogens to optimize patient treatment outcomes.Laboratory-on-a-chip(LOC)technology has emerged as a transformative tool in health care,offering rapid,sensitive,and specific identification of microorganisms.This editorial provides a comprehensive overview of LOC technology,highlighting its principles,advantages,applications,challenges,and future directions.Success studies from the field have demonstrated the practical benefits of LOC devices in clinical diagnostics,epidemiology,and food safety.Comparative studies have underscored the superiority of LOC technology over traditional methods,showcasing improvements in speed,accuracy,and portability.The future integration of LOC with biosensors,artificial intelligence,and data analytics promises further innovation and expansion.This call to action emphasizes the importance of continued research,investment,and adoption to realize the full potential of LOC technology in improving healthcare outcomes worldwide.

Microstructure and thermal properties of dissimilar M300–CuCr1Zr alloys by multi-material laser-based powder bed fusion

Multi-material laser-based powder bed fusion (PBF-LB) allows manufacturing of parts with 3-dimensional gradient and additional functionality in a single step. This research focuses on the combination of thermally-conductive CuCr1Zr with hard M300 tool steel.Two interface configurations of M300 on CuCr1Zr and CuCr1Zr on M300 were investigated. Ultra-fine grains form at the interface due to the low mutual solubility of Cu and steel. The material mixing zone size is dependent on the configurations and tunable in the range of0.1–0.3 mm by introducing a separate set of parameters for the interface layers. Microcracks and pores mainly occur in the transition zone.Regardless of these defects, the thermal diffusivity of bimetallic parts with 50vol% of CuCr1Zr significantly increases by 70%–150%compared to pure M300. The thermal diffusivity of CuCr1Zr and the hardness of M300 steel can be enhanced simultaneously by applying the aging heat treatment.

Exploring non-invasive diagnostics for metabolic dysfunctionassociated fatty liver disease

The population with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease(MAFLD)is increasingly common worldwide.Identification of people at risk of progression to advanced stages is necessary to timely offer interventions and appropriate care.Liver biopsy is currently considered the gold standard for the diagnosis and staging of MAFLD,but it has associated risks and limitations.This has spurred the exploration of non-invasive diagnostics for MAFLD,especially for steatohepatitis and fibrosis.These non-invasive approaches mostly include biomarkers and algorithms derived from anthropometric measurements,serum tests,imaging or stool metagenome profiling.However,they still need rigorous and widespread clinical validation for the diagnostic performance.

A synthetic diagnostics platform for microwave imaging diagnostics in tokamaks

Interpreting experimental diagnostics data in tokamaks,while considering non-ideal effects,is challenging due to the complexity of plasmas.To address this challenge,a general synthetic diagnostics(GSD)platform has been established that facilitates microwave imaging reflectometry and electron cyclotron emission imaging.This platform utilizes plasma profiles as input and incorporates the finite-difference time domain,ray tracing and the radiative transfer equation to calculate the propagation of plasma spontaneous radiation and the external electromagnetic field in plasmas.Benchmark tests for classical cases have been conducted to verify the accuracy of every core module in the GSD platform.Finally,2D imaging of a typical electron temperature distribution is reproduced by this platform and the results are consistent with the given real experimental data.This platform also has the potential to be extended to 3D electromagnetic field simulations and other microwave diagnostics such as cross-polarization scattering.

Storage time affects the level and diagnostic efficacy of plasma biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases

Several promising plasma biomarker proteins,such as amyloid-β(Aβ),tau,neurofilament light chain,and glial fibrillary acidic protein,are widely used for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases.However,little is known about the long-term stability of these biomarker proteins in plasma samples stored at-80°C.We aimed to explore how storage time would affect the diagnostic accuracy of these biomarkers using a large cohort.Plasma samples from 229 cognitively unimpaired individuals,encompassing healthy controls and those experiencing subjective cognitive decline,as well as 99 patients with cognitive impairment,comprising those with mild cognitive impairment and dementia,were acquired from the Sino Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Decline project.These samples were stored at-80°C for up to 6 years before being used in this study.Our results showed that plasma levels of Aβ42,Aβ40,neurofilament light chain,and glial fibrillary acidic protein were not significantly correlated with sample storage time.However,the level of total tau showed a negative correlation with sample storage time.Notably,in individuals without cognitive impairment,plasma levels of total protein and tau phosphorylated protein threonine 181(p-tau181)also showed a negative correlation with sample storage time.This was not observed in individuals with cognitive impairment.Consequently,we speculate that the diagnostic accuracy of plasma p-tau181 and the p-tau181 to total tau ratio may be influenced by sample storage time.Therefore,caution is advised when using these plasma biomarkers for the identification of neurodegenerative diseases,such as Alzheimer's disease.Furthermore,in cohort studies,it is important to consider the impact of storage time on the overall results.

Review of current diagnostic methods and advances in Helicobacter pylori diagnostics in the era of next generation sequencing

Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)infection is highly prevalent in the human population and may lead to severe gastrointestinal pathology including gastric and duodenal ulcers,mucosa associated tissue lymphoma and gastric adenocarcinoma.In recent years,an alarming increase in antimicrobial resistance and subsequently failing empiric H.pylori eradication therapies have been noted worldwide,also in many European countries.Therefore,rapid and accurate determination of H.pylori’s antibiotic susceptibility prior to the administration of eradication regimens becomes ever more important.Traditionally,detection of H.pylori and its antimicrobial resistance is done by culture and phenotypic drug susceptibility testing that are cumbersome with a long turn-around-time.Recent advances in diagnostics provide new tools,like real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR)and line probe assays,to diagnose H.pylori infection and antimicrobial resistance to certain antibiotics,directly from clinical specimens.Moreover,high-throughput whole genome sequencing technologies allow the rapid analysis of the pathogen’s genome,thereby allowing identification of resistance mutations and associated antibiotic resistance.In the first part of this review,we will give an overview on currently available diagnostic methods for detection of H.pylori and its drug resistance and their implementation in H.pylori management.The second part of the review focusses on the use of next generation sequencing technology in H.pylori research.To this end,we conducted a literature search for original research articles in English using the terms“Helicobacter”,“transcriptomic”,“transcriptome”,“next generation sequencing”and“whole genome sequencing”.This review is aimed to bridge the gap between current diagnostic practice(histology,rapid urease test,H.pylori culture,PCR and line probe assays)and new sequencing technologies and their potential implementation in diagnostic laboratory settings in order to complement the currently recommended H.pylori management guidelines and subsequently improve public health.

Application of high-titred IgY antibodies in orthopox virus diagnostics

Layer chickens were immunized with three species of inactivated orthopox virus （vaccinia virus, calpox virus and cowpox virus）. Antibodies （IgY） were purified from egg yolks by improved polyethylene glycol precipitation. The development of IgY directed against orthopox virus antigens was followed by immunofluorescence assay, plaque reduction neutraliztion test and immunoelectron microscopy. Cross-reactivity of two IgY antibodies with cells infected by the different strains of the pox viruses was also investigated by different methods （immunofluorescence assay, plaque reduction neutraliztion test and Western blot）. Even in very high dilutions in immunofluorescence assay （titres up to 1：10^6 and 1：10^5, respectively） and persisted on a plateau over 10 months after four booster injections, it was showed that anti-vaccinia virus IgY and anti-calpox virus IgY were positive. Neutralizing activity and ultra-structural detection of antigen with gold-labelled antibodies were respectively observed in plaque reduction neutralization test and immunoelectron microscopy. Western blot analysis revealed specific binding of IgY to virus proteins. Thus, there was cross-reactivity between different orthopox viruses. Finally, orthopox virns-specific IgY antibodies bounded magnetic beads （Dynabead） were used to concentration of orthopox viruses. This study suggests that anti-pox virus IgY could serve as a useful tool for orthopox viruses diagnosis.

Companion diagnostics for the targeted therapy of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is the fourth most common type ofcancer and represents a major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. With recent biomedical advances in our understanding of the molecular characteristics of gastric cancer, many genetic alterations have been identified as potential targets for its treatment. Multiple novel agents are currently under development as the demand for active agents that improve the survival of gastric cancer patients constantly increases. Based on lessons from previous trials of targeted agents, it is now widely accepted that the establishment of an optimal diagnostic test to select molecularly defined patients is of equal importance to the development of active agents against targetable genetic alterations. Herein, we highlight the current status and future perspectives of companion diagnostics in the treatment of gastric cancer.

Special Issue on Machine Fault Diagnostics and Prognostics

Machine components and systems, such as gears, bearings, pipes, cutting tools and turbines, may experience various types of faults, such as breakage, crack, pitting, wear, corrosion. If not being properly monitored and treated, such faults can propagate and lead to machinery perfor- mance degradation, malfunction, or even severe compo- nent/system failure. It is significant to reliably detect machinery defects, evaluate their severity, predict the fault propagation trends, and schedule optimized maintenance and inspection activities to prevent unexpected failures. Advances in these areas will support ensuring equipment and production reliability, safety, quality and productivity.

A Self-Powered Breath Analyzer Based on PANI/PVDF Piezo-Gas-Sensing Arrays for Potential Diagnostics Application

The increasing morbidity of internal diseases poses serious threats to human health and quality of life.Exhaled breath analysis is a noninvasive and convenient diagnostic method to improve the cure rate of patients. In this study, a self-powered breath analyzer based on polyaniline/polyvinylidene fluoride(PANI/PVDF) piezogas-sensing arrays has been developed for potential detection of several internal diseases. The device works by converting exhaled breath energy into piezoelectric gassensing signals without any external power sources. The five sensing units in the device have different sensitivities to various gas markers with concentrations ranging from 0 to 600 ppm. The working principle can be attributed to the coupling of the in-pipe gas-flow-induced piezoelectric effect of PVDF and gas-sensing properties of PANI electrodes. In addition, the device demonstrates its use as an ethanol analyzer to roughly mimic fatty liver diagnosis.This new approach can be applied to fabricating new exhaled breath analyzers and promoting the development of self-powered systems.

Biomarkers in schizophrenia:A focus on blood based diagnostics and theranostics

Identifying biomarkers that can be used as diagnostics or predictors of treatment response(theranostics) in people with schizophrenia(Sz) will be an important step towards being able to provide personalized treatment. Findings from the studies in brain tissue have not yet been translated into biomarkers that are practical in clinical use because brain biopsies are not acceptable and neuroimaging techniques are expensive and the results are inconclusive. Thus, in recent years, there has been search for blood-based biomarkers for Sz as a valid alternative. Although there are some encouraging preliminary data to support the notion of peripheral biomarkers for Sz, it must be acknowledged that Sz is a complex and heterogeneous disorder which needs to be further dissected into subtype using biological based and clinical markers. The scope of this review is to critically examine published blood-based biomarker of Sz, focusing on possible uses for diagnosis, treatment response, or their relationship with schizophreniaassociated phenotype. We sorted the studies into six categories which include:(1) brain-derived neurotrophic factor;(2) inflammation and immune function;(3) neurochemistry;(4) oxidative stress response and metabolism;(5) epigenetics and micro RNA; and(6) transcriptome and proteome studies. This review also summarized the molecules which have been conclusively reported as potential blood-based biomarkers for Sz in different blood cell types. Finally, we further discusses the pitfall of current blood-based studies and suggest that a prediction model-based, Sz specific, bloodoriented study design as well as standardize blood collection conditions would be useful for Sz biomarker development.

Plasma diagnostics by optical emission spectroscopy on manganese ore in conjunction with XRD, XRF and SEM-EDS

Manganese(Mn) is an important industrial mineral.Information about the chemical and phase constitution along with the concentration of impurities presented in Mn ore is compulsory in assessing its suitability for different applications.We performed the qualitative and quantitative analysis of low-grade Mn ore(LGMO) using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS) in conjunction with x-ray diffraction(XRD), x-ray fluorescence(XRF) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) coupled with energy dispersive x-ray electron spectroscopy(EDS).The optical emission spectra of the LGMO sample displayed the presence of Mn, Si, Ca, Fe, Al, Mg,V, Ti, Sr, Ni, Na, Ba and Li.The plasma parameters, electron temperature and number density were estimated using the Boltzmann plot and Stark broadening line profile methods and were found to be 7500 K±750 K and 8.18±0.8×1017 cm-3, respectively.Quantitative analysis was performed using the calibration-free LIBS(CF-LIBS) method and its outcome along with XRD, XRF and SEM-EDS data showed almost analogous elemental composition, while the LIBS method gave acceptably precise elemental analysis by detecting the low atomic number element Li besides V and Sr.The results obtained using LIBS for the LGMO exhibited its ability as a powerful analytical tool and XRF, XRD and SEM-EDS as complementary methods for the compositional analysis of complex low-grade mineral ore.

Progress of microwave diagnostics development on the HL-2A tokamak

Sets of powerful microwave diagnostic systems have been developed on the HL-2 A tokamak,including 18 subsystems with high spatial and temporal resolutions.These systems have been applied in the HL-2 A tokamak experiments to investigate the core plasma transport,turbulence,MHD,energetic particle physics and so on.In this paper,the microwave diagnostics and their applications are reviewed.Some new technologies,including GHz sampling digital correlation electron cyclotron emission（DCECE）,multi-channel correlation reflectometers,and solid state terahertz interferometers,are also presented in the paper.

MicroRNAs in inflammatory bowel disease-pathogenesis,diagnostics and therapeutics

The pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is complex and largely unknown. Until recently, research has focused on the study of protein regulators in inflammation to reveal the cellular and molecular networks in the pathogenesis of IBD. However, in the last few years, new and promising insights have been generated from studies describing an association between an altered expression of a specific class of non-coding RNAs, called microRNAs (miRs or miRNAs) and IBD. The short (approximately 22 nucleotides), endogenous, single-stranded RNAs are evolutionary conserved inanimals and plants, and regulate specific target mRNAs at the post-transcriptional level. MiRNAs are involved in several biological processes, including development, cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis. Furthermore, it is estimated that miRNAs may be responsible for regulating the expression of nearly one-third of the genes in the human genome. Thus, miRNA deregulation often results in an impaired cellular function, and a disturbance of downstream gene regulation and signaling cascades, suggesting their implication in disease etiology. Despite the identification of more than 1900 mature human miRNAs, very little is known about their biological functions and functional targets. Recent studies have identified dysregulated miRNAs in tissue samples of IBD patients and have demonstrated similar differences in circulating miRNAs in the serum of IBD patients. Thus, there is great promise that miRNAs will aid in the early diagnosis of IBD, and in the development of personalized therapies. Here, we provide a short review of the current state-of-the-art of miRNAs in IBD pathogenesis, diagnostics and therapeutics.

Enthalpy Probe Technique for Thermal Plasma Diagnostics

The measuring principle and experimental results of the enthalpy probe technique for thermal plasma diagnostics are presented. Its calibration and errors are discussed. Typical results are presented for the system operation in an Ar/H2(5 % H2) plasma arc jet under a reactor chamber pressure of 101.3 kPa. The plasma temperature and velocity profiles are measured. The center temperature and velocity are 6600 K and 850 m/s for plasma power 9 kW at axial location of 17 mm.

The Use of High-Performance Fatigue Mechanics and the Extended Kalman/Particle Filters,for Diagnostics and Prognostics of Aircraft Structures

In this paper,we propose an approach for diagnostics and prognostics of damaged aircraft structures,by combing high-performance fatigue mechanics with filtering theories.Fast&accurate deterministic analyses of fatigue crack propagations are carried out,by using the Finite Element Alternating Method(FEAM)for computing SIFs,and by using the newly developed Moving Least Squares(MLS)law for computing fatigue crack growth rates.Such algorithms for simulating fatigue crack propagations are embedded in the computer program Safe-Flaw,which is called upon as a subroutine within the probabilistic framework of filter theories.Both the extended Kalman as well as particle filters are applied in this study,to obtain the statistically optimal and semi-optimal estimates of crack lengths,from a series of noisy measurements of crack-lengths over time.For the specific problem,a simple modification to the particle filter,which can drastically reduce the computational burden,is also proposed.Based on the results of such diagnostic analyses,the prognostics of aerospace structures are thereafter achieved,to estimate the probabilistic distribution of the remaining useful life.By using a simple example of a single-crack near a fastener hole,we demonstrate the concept and effectiveness of the proposed framework.This paper thus forms the scientific foundation for the recently proposed concepts of VRAMS(Virtual Risk-Informed Agile Maneuver Sustainment)and Digital Twins of aerospace vehicles.

Current and future molecular diagnostics in colorectal cancer and colorectal adenoma

Colorectal cancer(CRC)is one of the most prevalent cancers in developed countries.On the other hand,CRC is also one of the most curable cancers if it is detected in early stages through regular colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy.Since CRC develops slowly from precancerous lesions,early detection can reduce both the incidence and mortality of the disease.Fecal occult blood test is a widely used non-invasive screening tool for CRC.Although fecal occult blood test is simple and cost-effective in screening CRC,there is room for improvement in terms of the accuracy of the test.Genetic dysregulations have been found to play an important role in CRC development.With better understanding of the molecular basis of CRC,there is a growing expectation on the development of diagnostic tests based on more sensitive and specific molecular markers and those tests may provide a breakthrough to the limitations of current screening tests for CRC.In this review,the molecular basis of CRC development,the characteristics and applications of different non-invasive molecular biomarkers,as well as the technologies available for the detection were discussed.This review intended to provide a summary on the current and future molecular diagnostics in CRC and its pre-malignant state,colorectal adenoma.

Next-Generation Intelligent MXene-Based Electrochemical Aptasensors for Point-of-Care Cancer Diagnostics

Delayed diagnosis of cancer using conventional diagnostic modalities needs to be addressed to reduce the mortality rate of cancer.Recently,2 D nanomaterial-enabled advanced biosensors have shown potential towards the early diagnosis of cancer.The high surface area,surface functional groups availability,and excellent electrical conductivity of MXene make it the 2 D material of choice for the fabrication of advanced electrochemical biosensors for disease diagnostics.MXene-enabled electrochemical aptasensors have shown great promise for the detection of cancer biomarkers with a femtomolar limit of detection.Additionally,the stability,ease of synthesis,good reproducibility,and high specificity offered by MXene-enabled aptasensors hold promise to be the mainstream diagnostic approach.In this review,the design and fabrication of MXene-based electrochemical aptasensors for the detection of cancer biomarkers have been discussed.Besides,various synthetic processes and useful properties of MXenes which can be tuned and optimized easily and efficiently to fabricate sensitive biosensors have been elucidated.Further,futuristic sensing applications along with challenges will be deliberated herein.

Development and Integration of a Data Acquisition System for SST-1 Phase-1 Plasma Diagnostics

Long pulse （of the order of 1000 s or more） SST-1 tokamak experiments demand a data acquisition system that is capable of acquiring data from various diagnostics channels without losing useful data （and hence physics information） while avoiding unnecessary generation of a large volume data. SST-1 Phase-1 tokamak operation has been envisaged with data acquisition of several essential diagnostics channels. These channels demand data acquisition at a sampling rate ranging from 1 kilo samples per second （KSPS） to 1 mega samples per second （MSPS）. Considering the technical characteristics and requirements of the diagnostics, a data acquisition system based on PXI and CAMAC has been developed for SST-1 plasma diagnostics. Both these data acquisition systems are scalable. Present data acquisition needs involving slow plasma diagnostics are catered by the PXI based data acquisition system. On the other hand, CAMAC data acquisition hardware meets all requirements of the SST-1 Phase-1 fast plasma diagnostics channels. A graphical user interface for both data acquisition systems （PXI and CAMAC） has been developed using LabVIEW application development software. The collected data on the local hard disk are directly streaming to the central server through a dedicated network for post-shot data analysis. This paper describes the development and integration of the data acquisition system for SST-1 Phase-1 plasma diagnostics. The integrated testing of the developed data acquisition system has been performed using SST-1 central control and diagnostics signal conditioning units. In the absence of plasma shots, the integrated testing of the data acquisition system for the initial diagnostics of SST-1 Phase-1 operation has been performed with simulated physical signals. The primary engineering objective of this integrated testing is to validate the performance of the developed data acquisition system under simulated conditions close to that of actual tokamak operation. The data acquisition is synchronized with a clock and trigger provided by the central timing system.

A Novel Multi-sensor Data Fusion Algorithm and Its Application to Diagnostics

To Meet the requirements of multi-sensor data fusion in diagnosis for complex equipment systems,a novel, fuzzy similarity-based data fusion algorithm is given. Based on fuzzy set theory, it calculates the fuzzy similarity among a certain sensor's measurement values and the multiple sensor's objective prediction values to determine the importance weigh of each sensor,and realizes the multi-sensor diagnosis parameter data fusion.According to the principle, its application software is also designed. The applied example proves that the algorithm can give priority to the high-stability and high -reliability sensors and it is laconic ,feasible and efficient to real-time circumstance measure and data processing in engine diagnosis.