Detection of ion cyclotron emission by using an ion cyclotron range of frequency antennas-based diagnostic system in experimental advanced superconducting tokamak.

In the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST), a novel ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) antenna-based diagnostic system is designed to measure ion cyclotron emission (ICE) driven by high-energy ions. The diagnostic system includes ICRF antenna straps, a three-tune impedance matching system, a coaxial switching system, a direct current block, and a data acquisition and storage system. Using the coaxial switching system, the ICRF antenna can be switched from the heating mode to the coupling mode between two discharges. In the 2023 EAST experiment campaign, core ICE was observed using the ICRF antenna-based diagnostic system during neutron beam injection heating, and the obtained results agreed well with the signal detected by the previous high-frequency B-dot probe-based diagnostic system.

RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses reveal the physiological response to acute hypoxia and reoxygenation in Epinephelus coioides.

Hypoxia is a critical problem in intensive Epinephelus coioides aquaculture systems. In the present study, the physiological responses of E. coioides muscle to acute hypoxic stress (DO = 0.6 ± 0.1 mg/L) and reoxygenation (DO = 6.0 ± 0.1 mg/L) were analyzed by transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). RNA-seq was conducted on the muscle tissues of E. coioides in the hypoxia-tolerant (EMS), hypoxia-sensitive (EMW), and normoxic (CM) groups. Among the three groups, a total of 277 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. KEGG analysis revealed that the pathways significantly enriched after hypoxic stress are involved in the immune response, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, energy metabolism, vasodilation and proliferation, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. qRT‒PCR verified that the differentially expressed genes FIH-1, PHD-2, PPARα, BCL-XL, LDH-A, and Flt-1 were significantly upregulated after hypoxic stress and returned to normal levels after reoxygenation, suggesting that these DEGs play important roles in responding to hypoxia treatment. In addition, the HIF-1 signaling pathway was also activated under hypoxic stress, and qRT‒PCR confirmed that the expression level of HIF-1α was significantly elevated under acute hypoxic stress, indicating that the HIF-1 signaling pathway is the central pathway in the E. coioides hypoxic response mechanism and activates other related pathways to adapt to hypoxic stress. These pathways jointly regulate energy metabolism, substance synthesis, blood vessel proliferation, cell proliferation, and differentiation and prolong survival time. These results provide ideas for understanding physiological regulation after hypoxic stress and reoxygenation and provide basic insights for the future breeding of hypoxia-tolerant E. coioides.

Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals physiological responses in liver tissues of Epinephelus coioides under acute hypoxia stress.

Hypoxia is a common stressor for aquatic animals, including Epinephelus coioides, with a considerable impact on sustainable aquaculture. E. coioides is a widely consumed fish in China owing to its high nutritious value and taste. However, water hypoxia caused by high density culture process has become a great threat to E. coioides culture, and its response to hypoxia stress has not been discussed before. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the response of E. coioides to acute hypoxia using transcriptomic techniques. To this end, RNA sequencing was performed on the liver tissues of fish exposed to normoxic and hypoxic conditions for 1 h. The results presented 503 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the liver tissue of fish exposed to hypoxic condition compared with those in the normoxic group. Enrichment analysis using the Gene Ontology database showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched for functions related to cell apoptosis signaling pathways, insulin resistance, antioxidant enzymes, and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis signaling pathways. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that HIF-1, PI3K-AKT, IL-17, NF-kappa B, and MAPK signaling pathways were significantly enriched by the DEGs. The DEGs were mainly involved in immune response, inflammatory response, cell apoptosis regulation, energy metabolism, and substance metabolism. Additionally, the hypoxia response in E. coioides was mainly regulated via the PI3K-AKT-HIF-1 signaling axis. Overall, the findings of this study contribute to the understanding of hypoxia stress response in E. coioides, and provides target genes for breeding hypoxia-tolerant Epinephelus spp.

Smartphone-Based Dual-Modality Imaging System for Quantitative Detection of Color or Fluorescent Lateral Flow Immunochromatographic Strips.

Nowadays, lateral flow immunochromatographic assays are increasingly popular as a diagnostic tool for point-of-care (POC) test based on their simplicity, specificity, and sensitivity. Hence, quantitative detection and pluralistic popular application are urgently needed in medical examination. In this study, a smartphone-based dual-modality imaging system was developed for quantitative detection of color or fluorescent lateral flow test strips, which can be operated anywhere at any time. In this system, the white and ultra-violet (UV) light of optical device was designed, which was tunable with different strips, and the Sobel operator algorithm was used in the software, which could enhance the identification ability to recognize the test area from the background boundary information. Moreover, this technology based on extraction of the components from RGB format (red, green, and blue) of color strips or only red format of the fluorescent strips can obviously improve the high-signal intensity and sensitivity. Fifty samples were used to evaluate the accuracy of this system, and the ideal detection limit was calculated separately from detection of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The results indicated that smartphone-controlled dual-modality imaging system could provide various POC diagnoses, which becomes a potential technology for developing the next-generation of portable system in the near future.

Dual Immunomagnetic Nanobeads-Based Lateral Flow Test Strip for Simultaneous Quantitative Detection of Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Neuron Specific Enolase.

A novel immunomagnetic nanobeads -based lateral flow test strip was developed for the simultaneous quantitative detection of neuron specific enolase (NSE) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), which are sensitive and specific in the clinical diagnosis of small cell lung cancer. Using this nanoscale method, high saturation magnetization, carboxyl-modified magnetic nanobeads were successfully synthesized. To obtain the immunomagnetic probes, a covalent bioconjugation of the magnetic nanobeads with the antibody of NSE and CEA was carried out. The detection area contained test line 1 and test line 2 which captured the immune complexes sensitively and formed sandwich complexes. In this assay, cross-reactivity results were negative and both NSE and CEA were detected simultaneously with no obvious influence on each other. The magnetic signal intensity of the nitrocellulose membrane was measured by a magnetic assay reader. For quantitative analysis, the calculated limit of detection was 0.094 ng/mL for NSE and 0.045 ng/mL for CEA. One hundred thirty clinical samples were used to validate the test strip which exhibited high sensitivity and specificity. This dual lateral flow test strip not only provided an easy, rapid, simultaneous quantitative detection strategy for NSE and CEA, but may also be valuable in automated and portable diagnostic applications.

Use of quantum dot beads-labeled monoclonal antibody to improve the sensitivity of a quantitative and simultaneous immunochromatographic assay for neuron specific enolase and carcinoembryonic antigen.

Detection of multiplex tumor markers was of great importance for cancer diagnosis. Immunochromatographic test strip (ICTS) was the most frequently-used point-of-care detection means. Herein, a convenient and fast method for simultaneous quantitative detection of neuron specific enolase (NSE) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was developed based on ICTS using quantum dot beads (QBs) as marking material. Good monodispersity, high colloidal stability and carboxyl-modified (COOH-) QBs were used. For this method, two test lines were applied to the NC membrane for simultaneous analysis of CEA and NSE respectively. The ideal limit of CEA and NSE detection was 0.0378ng/mL and 0.0426ng/mL with scarcely any cross-reactivity. Moreover, the fluorescent signal intensity of the nitrocellulose membrane could be easily read out in the cooperation of the "Handing" system without professional operators. The possible clinical utilization of this platform was demonstrated by detecting 100 clinic human serums. The result showed that the platform had sensitivity of 99% and 97% for CEA and NSE, while the specificity was 97% and 100% respectively. Our results indicated that the QBs based ICTS not only owning the ability of sensitive and specific simultaneous detection of CEA and NSE, but also showing the potential in developing this ICTS into a routine part of early lung cancer diagnosis.

Carcinoembryonic antigen detection with "Handing"-controlled fluorescence spectroscopy using a color matrix for point-of-care applications.

In this study, we developed a power-free, accurate, and portable diagnostic platform called Handing based on embedded technology, which can rapidly detect fluorescent signals from quantum dots (QDs) on lateral flow test strips (LFTSs). The Handing system has three components: a hand-held test terminal, LFTS cartridge, and data server. The hand-held test terminal is the primary system component and it is integrated with tiny components using printed circuit board packaging for image acquisition, processing, and data handling by a specific program. A black smooth shell and three-dimensional printed test cartridge are used to facilitate the portability of the detection terminal, which provides a closed detection process as well as enhancing the anti-interference capacity. The functions of the data server comprise pre-editing, storage, range querying, and sharing with an international network. Multiple hand-held terminal devices can be linked simultaneously to the same data server. In this study, we detected the tumor marker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) using the QD-LFTS system, which allowed quantitative analysis in the range of 1-100ng/mL with an ideal detection limit of 0.049ng/mL. Thus, the system is suitable for detecting CEA in the clinically accepted range. We also detected 70 positive and 30 negative serum samples using the Handing system, which exhibited good specificity and sensitivity. Thus, Handing has the capacity for rapid quantitative detection with high stability and repeatability, so it could be used for in vitro diagnostics in the laboratory and in other conditions for various applications, e.g., food evaluation, disease screening, environmental monitoring, and drug testing.

CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dot-Labeled Lateral Flow Strips for Rapid and Quantitative Detection of Gastric Cancer Carbohydrate Antigen 72-4.

Carbohydrate antigen 72-4 (CA72-4) is an important biomarker associated closely with diagnosis and prognosis of early gastric cancer. How to realize quick, sensitive, specific, and quantitative detection of CA72-4 in clinical specimens has become a great requirement. Herein, we reported a CdSe/ZnS quantum dot-labeled lateral flow test strip combined with a charge-coupled device (CCD)-based reader was developed for rapid, sensitive, and quantitative detection of CA72-4. Two mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against CA72-4 were employed. One of them was coated as a test line, while another mAb was labeled with quantum dots and coated onto conjugate pad. The goat anti-mouse IgG was immobilized as a control line. After sample was added, a sandwich structure was formed with CA72-4 and these two mAbs. The fluorescent signal from quantum dots (QD)-labeled mAb in sandwich structure was related to the amount of detected CA72-4. A CCD-based reader was used to realize quantitative detection of CA72-4. Results showed that developed QD-labeled lateral flow strips to detect CA72-4 biomarker with the sensitivity of 2 IU/mL and 10 min detection time. One hundred sera samples from clinical patients with gastric cancer and healthy people were used to confirm specificity of this strip method; results showed that established strip method own 100 % reproducibility and 100 % specificity compared with Roche electrochemiluminescence assay results. In conclusion, CdSe/ZnS quantum dot-labeled lateral flow strips for detection of CA72-4 could realize rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of clinical samples and could own great potential in clinical translation in near future.

Simultaneous Quantitative Detection of Helicobacter Pylori Based on a Rapid and Sensitive Testing Platform using Quantum Dots-Labeled Immunochromatiographic Test Strips.

Quantum dots-labeled urea-enzyme antibody-based rapid immunochromatographic test strips have been developed as quantitative fluorescence point-of-care tests (POCTs) to detect helicobacter pylori. Presented in this study is a new test strip reader designed to run on tablet personal computers (PCs), which is portable for outdoor detection even without an alternating current (AC) power supply. A Wi-Fi module was integrated into the reader to improve its portability. Patient information was loaded by a barcode scanner, and an application designed to run on tablet PCs was developed to handle the acquired images. A vision algorithm called Kmeans was used for picture processing. Different concentrations of various human blood samples were tested to evaluate the stability and accuracy of the fabricated device. Results demonstrate that the reader can provide an easy, rapid, simultaneous, quantitative detection for helicobacter pylori. The proposed test strip reader has a lighter weight than existing detection readers, and it can run for long durations without an AC power supply, thus verifying that it possesses advantages for outdoor detection. Given its fast detection speed and high accuracy, the proposed reader combined with quantum dots-labeled test strips is suitable for POCTs and owns great potential in applications such as screening patients with infection of helicobacter pylori, etc. in near future.