Development of a Smartphone-Based Fluorescent Immunochromatographic Assay Strip Reader.

Fluorescence immunochromatographic assay (FICA) is a rapid immunoassay technique that has the characteristics of high precision and sensitivity. Although image FICA strip readers have the advantages of high portability and easy operation, the use of high-precision complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensors leads to an increase in overall cost. Considering the popularity of CMOS image sensors in smartphones and their powerful processing functions, this work developed a smartphone-based FICA strip reader. An optical module suitable for the test strips with different fluorescent markers was designed by replacing the excitation light source and the light filter. An android smartphone was used for image acquisition and image denoising. Then, the test and control lines of the test strip image were recognized by the sliding window algorithm. Finally, the characteristic value of the strip image was calculated. A linear detection range from 10 to 5000 mIU/mL (R2 = 0.95) was obtained for human chorionic gonadotrophin with the maximum relative error less than 9.41%, and a linear detection range from 5 to 4000 pg/mL (R2 = 0.99) was obtained for aflatoxin B1, with the maximum relative error less than 12.71%. Therefore, the smartphone-based FICA strip reader had high portability, versatility, and accuracy.

Automatic Range Adjustment of the Fluorescence Immunochromatographic Assay Based on Image Processing.

As an emerging technology, fluorescence immunochromatographic assay (FICA) has the advantages of high sensitivity, strong stability and specificity, which is widely used in the fields of medical testing, food safety and environmental monitoring. The FICA reader based on image processing meets the needs of point-of-care testing because of its simple operation, portability and fast detection speed. However, the image gray level of common image sensors limits the detection range of the FICA reader, and high-precision image sensors are expensive, which is not conducive to the popularization of the instrument. In this paper, FICA strips' image was collected using a common complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor and a range adjustment mechanism was established to automatically adjust the exposure time of the CMOS image sensor to achieve the effect of range expansion. The detection sensitivity showed a onefold increase, and the upper detection limit showed a twofold increase after the proposed method was implemented. In addition, in the experiments of linearity and accuracy, the fitting degree (R2) of the fitted curves both reached 0.999. Therefore, the automatic range adjustment method can obviously improve the detection range of the FICA reader based on image processing.

Provincial-level analysis of electrification feasibility and climate policy interactions.

Improving electrification feasibility is essential for reducing emissions from non-electric energy sources, thereby enhancing air quality and public health. Concurrently, climate mitigation actions, such as carbon pricing policies, have significant potential to alleviate increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) and other co-emitted air pollutants. However, the interactions between climate policy and the improvement of electrification feasibility at the provincial level remain unclear, collectively impacting the net-zero transition of energy-intensive sectors. Here we combine a technologically rich economic-energy-environment model with air quality modeling across China to examine the health, climate, and economic implications of large-scale upgrades in electrification feasibility and climate policies from 2017 to 2030. The results indicate that advancing electrification feasibility, coupled with adopting carbon pricing policies, is likely to facilitate a transition towards electricity-dominant energy systems. Improved electrification feasibility is projected to yield a 7-25% increase in nationwide climate benefits and a 5-14% increase in health benefits by 2030. These incremental benefits, coupled with reduced economic costs, result in a 22-68% increase in net benefits. However, regionally, improvements in electrification feasibility will lead to heightened power demand and unintended emissions from electric energy production in certain provinces (e.g., Nei Mongol) due to the coal-dominated power system. Additionally, in major coal-producing provinces like Shanxi and Shaanxi, enhanced electrification feasibility exacerbates the negative economic impacts of climate policies. This study provides quantitative insights into how improving electrification feasibility reshapes energy evolution and the benefit-cost profile of climate policy at the provincial level. The findings underscore the necessity of a well-designed compensation scheme between affected and unaffected provinces and coordinated emission mitigation across the power and other end-use sectors.

[Preliminary application of injectable calcium phosphate cement/poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres for extraction site preservation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility of extraction site preservation using injectable calcium phosphate cement (CPC) combine with poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres. METHODS: Immediate extraction defects models were created in canine mandibles, and the defects were filled with CPC/PLGA (experimental group, E) , Bio-Oss (positive control, P), non-treatment (blank control, B) respectively. Dogs were sacrificed after 4, 8, 12 weeks post operation. Statistical analysis were conducted using SPSS 19. RESULTS RESULTS: of radiological observation showed that there were not significantly different between groups in 4 and 8 week (P > 0.05). After 12 week,E (114.9 ± 8.4) were not significantly different compared with P (117.4 ± 12.1) (P > 0.05) , both were significantly higher than B (95.0 ± 12.6) (P < 0.05) . Histology examination showed that at 4 week following surgery, the result of newly formed bone was as follow, P[ (87.5 ± 1.5) %] > B[(78.7 ± 2.7)%] > E[(69.2 ± 1.8)%] (P < 0.05). At 8, 12 week, results of P[(94.0 ± 2.3)% and (93.5 ± 1.9) %] and E[ (94.7 ± 1.1) % and (96.0 ± 0.9) %] were better than those of B[ (76.8 ± 3.0)% and (87.0 ± 2.4)%] (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The effect of CPC/PLGA repair immediate alveolar ridge defects is the same as that of Bio-Oss, and CPC/PLGA can be used as a material in extraction site preservation.