Development and evaluation of a time-resolved fluorescence labelled immunochromatographic strip assay for rapid and quantitative detection of bovine herpesvirus 1.

Bovine herpes virus 1 (BoHV-1) causes a wide variety of diseases in wild and domestic cattle. The most widely used method for viral identification is real-time PCR, which can only be performed in laboratories using sophisticated instruments by expert personnel. Herein, we developed an ultrasensitive time-resolved fluorescence lateral flow immunochromatographic strip (ICS) assay for detecting BoHV-1 in bovine samples using a monoclonal antibody against BoHV-1 labelled with fluorescent microspheres, which can be applied in any setting. The intact process from sample collection to final result can be achieved in 15 min. The limit of detection of the assay for BoHV-1 was 102 TCID50/100 µL. The coincidence rate of the ICS method and real-time PCR recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) was 100% for negative, 92.30% for positive, and 95.42% for total, as evaluated by the detection of 131 clinical samples. This detection method was specifically targeted to BoHV-1, not exhibiting cross-reactivity with other bovine pathogens including BoHV-5. We developed an ICS assay equipped with a portable instrument that offers a sensitive and specific platform for the rapid and reliable detection of BoHV-1 in the field. The Point-of-Care test of BoHV-1 is suitable for the screening and surveillance of BoHV-1 in dairy herds.

Fabrication and Fireproofing Performance of the Coal Fly Ash-Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer Foams.

This paper aims to investigate the influence of coal fly ash (CFA) addition on the fireproof properties of the metakaolin-based geopolymer foams. The physical properties, thermal conductivity and fire resistance of the CFA-metakaolin-based geopolymer foams are discussed. The CFA-metakaolin-based geopolymer foams achieve a dry density between 259.43 kg/m3 and 349.73 kg/m3, a porosity between 71.78% and 72.98%, a thermal conductivity between 0.0871 W/(m·K) and 0.0944 W/(m·K) and a compressive strength between 0.38 MPa and 0.56 MPa, exhibiting better physical properties than that of the porous blocks without CFA addition. It is also found that the CFA addition could decrease the viscous sintering temperature and change the phase compositions of sintering products, resulting in the porous structure deterioration in a certain extent and obvious rise of the final reverse-side temperature during the fire-resistance tests. Fortunately, the conversion of the amorphous geopolymer gel to ceramics has helped to maintain the main skeleton structure stability. The CFA-metakaolin-based geopolymer foams still exhibit excellent fire resistance, and the reverse-side temperatures are always within 250 °C after 3 h fire-resistance tests.