The detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at room temperature with rapid response and recovery is important for early explosive alarm. Herein, we demonstrate significantly enhanced ...VOC-sensing properties of quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) coated with monolayer graphene film. The monolayer graphene was firstly synthesized by the chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method on Cu foil and then transferred to the gold electrode of the QCM for VOC-sensing application. The gas-sensing properties of the graphene-coated QCM sensor were examined at room temperature for various concentrations of numerous VOCs, including butanol, isopropanol, acetone, and ethanol. The results revealed that the graphene-coated QCM sensor exhibits the best performance with ethanol gas. The gas-sensing mechanism of the graphene-coated QCM sensor was attributed to the adsorption and desorption of VOC molecules on the defect sites of graphene sheet.
•The rapid response–recovery is due to the coating of a single atomic layer.•As-developed sensors have good response to volatile organic compounds (VOCs).•The graphene coating enhanced the VOCs detection capability of the as-developed sensors.
Mixing powder into dielectric fluid in electrical discharge machining (PMEDM) is a very interesting technological solution in current research. This method has the highest efficiency in ...simultaneously improving the productivity and quality of a machined surface. In this study, material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (SR), and the micro-hardness of a machined surface (HV) in electrical discharge machining of die steels in dielectric fluid with mixed powder were optimized simultaneously using the Taguchi–TOPSIS method. The process parameters used in the study included workpiece materials (SKD61, SKD11, SKT4), electrode materials (copper, graphite), electrode polarity, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, current, and titanium powder concentration. Some interaction pairs among the process parameters were also used to evaluate the effect on the optimal results. The results showed that MRR and HV increased and SR decreased when Ti powder was mixed into the dielectric fluid in EDM. Factors such as powder concentration, electrode material, electrode polarity, and pulse-off time were found to be significant in the optimal indicator (C*) and the S/N ratio of C*. Powder concentration was also found to be the most significant factor; its contribution to C* was 50.90%, and S/N ratio of C* was 51.46%. The interactions of the powder concentration and certain process parameters for C* were found to be largest. The optimum quality characteristics were MRR = 38.79 mm
3
/min, SR = 2.71 μm, and HV = 771 HV. The optimal parameters were verified by experiment, and its accuracy was good (max error ≈13.38%). The finished machined surface under optimum conditions was also analyzed. The machined surface quality under optimum conditions was good. In addition, the results of the study showed the TOPSIS limitations of TOPSIS in a multi-criteria optimization problem.
The identification and quantification of actionable mutations are of critical importance for effective genotype-directed therapies, prognosis and drug response monitoring in patients with ...non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although tumor tissue biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosis of NSCLC, the analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in plasma, known as liquid biopsy, has recently emerged as an alternative and noninvasive approach for exploring tumor genetic constitution. In this study, we developed a protocol for liquid biopsy using ultra-deep massively parallel sequencing (MPS) with unique molecular identifier tagging and evaluated its performance for the identification and quantification of tumor-derived mutations from plasma of patients with advanced NSCLC. Paired plasma and tumor tissue samples were used to evaluate mutation profiles detected by ultra-deep MPS, which showed 87.5% concordance. Cross-platform comparison with droplet digital PCR demonstrated comparable detection performance (91.4% concordance, Cohen's kappa coefficient of 0.85 with 95% CI = 0.72-0.97) and great reliability in quantification of mutation allele frequency (Intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.96 with 95% CI = 0.90-0.98). Our results highlight the potential application of liquid biopsy using ultra-deep MPS as a routine assay in clinical practice for both detection and quantification of actionable mutation landscape in NSCLC patients.
Vibration attached to workpiece in EDM (Electrical Discharge Machining) makes material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (SR) to be improved significantly. However, research results in this ...field are not so much. In this work, authors studied effect of low frequency vibration attached to workpiece SKD61 to efficiency in EDM. The effect of process parameters including pulse current (I), pulse-on time (Ton), pulse-off time (Toff) and vibration frequency (F) on MRR and surface roughness was investigated. The optimized parameter in EDM process using TOPSIS based multi objectives problem were performed. The experimental results have shown that the process performance accuracy has been enhanced to 86.6% through the Ci in low frequecy vibration assisted EDM process. This surface morphology of the machined specimen could also be improved under optimal process parameters.
Here, the authors introduce a novel system which incorporates the discriminative motion of oriented magnitude patterns (MOMP) descriptor into simple yet efficient techniques. The authors’ descriptor ...both investigates the relations of the local gradient distributions in neighbours among consecutive image sequences and characterises information changing across different orientations. The proposed system has two main contributions: (i) the authors adopt feature post-processing principal component analysis followed by vector of locally aggregated descriptors encoding to de-correlate MOMP descriptor and reduce the dimension in order to speed up the algorithm; (ii) then the authors include the feature selection (i.e. statistical dependency, mutual information, and minimal redundancy maximal relevance) to find out the best feature subset to improve the performance and decrease the computational expense in classification through support vector machine techniques. Experiment results on four data sets, Weizmann (98.4%), KTH (96.3%), UCF Sport (82.0%), and HMDB51 (31.5%), prove the efficiency of the authors’ algorithm.
ROTAVAC® is derived from human 116E rotavirus (RV) neonatal strain. In this study, we evaluated the immunogenicity, safety and reactogenicity of ROTAVAC® in Vietnam.
We conducted a phase IV clinical ...trial in healthy infants aged 6–8 weeks using the complete regimen of ROTAVAC® with three doses. Serum anti-RV IgA was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to assess the geometric mean concentration in infants who received the complete regimen of the vaccine.
A total of 360 participants were enrolled in this clinical trial. The mean age ± standard deviation at enrollment was 6.9 ± 0.6 weeks. The anti-RV IgA titer was 4.01 ± 3.74 mg/ml pre-vaccination and substantially increased to 29.27 ± 80.64 mg/ml post-vaccination. The value of logIgA significantly increased (p = 0.003) from 0.28 ± 0.79 to 1.03 ± 0.54. The proportion of participants with equal to and greater than 3-fold and 4-fold shifts in pre- to post-vaccination antibody titer (IgA) were 55.4% and 48.3%, respectively. No adverse events or serious adverse events were recorded immediately within 30 min after the administration of each dose. The most common adverse events within 14 days after each visit were fever, unusual crying and irritability. Other adverse events occurred at a low rate, and no case of intussusception was noted.
The complete regimen of ROTAVAC® demonstrated an immunological response with clinically acceptable safety profile. Post-completion of this study, ROTAVAC® is now a WHO-prequalified vaccine and available in Vietnam.
In this study, manganese ferrite-graphene oxide (MFO-GO) nanocomposites were prepared
via
a co-precipitation reaction of Fe
3+
and Mn
2+
ions in a GO suspension. The effects of graphene oxide on the ...physicochemical characteristics, magnetic properties and adsorption activities of the MFO-GO nanocomposites were studied. Methylene blue (MB) and arsenic(
v
) were used in this study as model water pollutants. With an increase in the GO content in the range of 10 wt% to 50 wt%, the removal efficiency for both MB dye and arsenic(
v
) ions was improved. Our adsorption data revealed that the adsorption behavior of MB dye showed good agreement with the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order equation, whereas the Freundlich isotherm model was more suitable for simulating the adsorption process of arsenic(
v
) ions on the MFO-GO nanocomposites. In addition, an important role of the GO content in the adsorption mechanisms of both MB dye and arsenic(
v
) ions was found, in which GO nanosheets play a key role in the mechanisms of electrostatic/ionic interactions, oxygen-containing groups and π-π conjugation in the case of the adsorption of MB dye, whereas the role of the GO content is mainly related to the mechanism of electrostatic/ionic interactions in the case of the adsorption of arsenic(
v
). Graphene oxide has the functions of increasing the number of active binding sites comprising oxygen-containing functional groups, reducing the agglomeration of MFO nanoparticles, increasing the number of adsorption sites, and improving the electrostatic/ionic interactions between adsorbents and adsorbates in order to enhance the adsorption performance of cationic organic dyes and/or heavy metal anions from aqueous solutions.
In this study, manganese ferrite-graphene oxide (MFO-GO) nanocomposites were prepared
via
a co-precipitation reaction of Fe
3+
and Mn
2+
ions in a GO suspension.
Selecting embryos with the highest implantation potential is crucial for in vitro fertilization (IVF) success. Both the timing of blastulation, day 5 (D5) or D6, and the embryo quality have been ...suggested as influential factors in determining the clinical outcome of single euploid blastocyst transfers. However, evidence supporting the superiority of D5 over D6 blastocysts remains inconclusive. The aim of this study was to compare clinical outcomes following the transfer of euploid blastocysts with different quality and timing of blastulation.BACKGROUNDSelecting embryos with the highest implantation potential is crucial for in vitro fertilization (IVF) success. Both the timing of blastulation, day 5 (D5) or D6, and the embryo quality have been suggested as influential factors in determining the clinical outcome of single euploid blastocyst transfers. However, evidence supporting the superiority of D5 over D6 blastocysts remains inconclusive. The aim of this study was to compare clinical outcomes following the transfer of euploid blastocysts with different quality and timing of blastulation.A retrospective cohort study was conducted at our Assisted Reproductive Center, analyzing the outcome of 774 transfers with D5 euploids and 155 transfers with D6 euploids performed between January 2019 and February 2022.MATERIALS AND METHODSA retrospective cohort study was conducted at our Assisted Reproductive Center, analyzing the outcome of 774 transfers with D5 euploids and 155 transfers with D6 euploids performed between January 2019 and February 2022.The live birth rate was significantly lower in the euploid D6 group compared to the euploid D5 group (38.71vs. 55.04%, P=0.001). The outcome was significantly influenced by the quality of the embryos. Live birth rates were 62.14 and 53.61% following transfers of D5 and D6 excellent embryos respectively, 45.18 and 32.21% following transfer of D5 and D6 good embryos but only 28.64 and 19.32% following transfer of D5 and D6 fair embryos. The outcome difference was statistically significant across embryo quality categories (P=0.001). The adjusted risk ratios (RR) of clinical outcomes indicated that excellent euploid D5 embryos consistently outperformed other types of embryo quality.RESULTSThe live birth rate was significantly lower in the euploid D6 group compared to the euploid D5 group (38.71vs. 55.04%, P=0.001). The outcome was significantly influenced by the quality of the embryos. Live birth rates were 62.14 and 53.61% following transfers of D5 and D6 excellent embryos respectively, 45.18 and 32.21% following transfer of D5 and D6 good embryos but only 28.64 and 19.32% following transfer of D5 and D6 fair embryos. The outcome difference was statistically significant across embryo quality categories (P=0.001). The adjusted risk ratios (RR) of clinical outcomes indicated that excellent euploid D5 embryos consistently outperformed other types of embryo quality.The timing of blastulation and embryo quality are crucial factors in determining the success of single euploid blastocyst transfers. Excellent euploid D5 transfers yielded superior clinical outcomes, providing valuable insights for IVF teams and patients when selecting embryos to be transferred.CONCLUSIONThe timing of blastulation and embryo quality are crucial factors in determining the success of single euploid blastocyst transfers. Excellent euploid D5 transfers yielded superior clinical outcomes, providing valuable insights for IVF teams and patients when selecting embryos to be transferred.
In this study, the surface of carbon screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) was modified with Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) of different sizes to investigate their electrochemical stability for detection of ...methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). AuNPs were electrochemically synthesised and used to modify the working electrode of SPEs via drop-casting method. Electron microscopic techniques were conducted to investigate the change in the morphology of AuNP-modified SPEs. The electrochemical behaviour of the AuNP-modified SPEs was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 5.0 mM K3 Fe(CN)6/K4Fe(CN)6 solution added with 0.1 M KCl. The AuNP-modified SPEs were also functionalised and prepared for the electrochemical detection of MRSA. Results showed that spherical AuNPs were successfully synthesised, the mean sizes were 25, and 15 nm. The electrochemical behaviour of modified SPEs strongly depended on the size of AuNPs. The AuNP-modified SPEs were stable after 25 CV cycles and can detect MRSA in the range of 10–106 CFU/ml, with a limit of detection (LoD) of 13 CFU/ml. The study revealed that carbon SPEs modified with AuNPs of suitable sizes can provide high-stability in the electrochemical behaviour for biosensing devices, especially for the rapid detection of highly pathogenic microorganisms.
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•The carbon SPEs are modified with AuNPs of different sizes to investigate their electrochemical stability.•The electrochemical behaviour of modified SPEs strongly depends on the size of AuNPs and keep stable after 25 CV cycles.•The AuNPs-modified carbon SPEs can detect Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with the LoD of 13 CFU/ml.
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different air diffusers on the oxygen transfer rate, water quality, and growth performance of the whiteleg shrimp, Penaeus vannamei, for 60 days using a ...recirculating aquaculture system. The first experiment was conducted with six treatments applying two different air diffusers regarding two treatments (TRT): (i) rubber aeration tube and (ii) airstone at three different air pressures (0.025, 0.05, and 0.075 Mpa), respectively. Based on the first experiment's results, the second experiment was designed with two treatments: TRT1 - rubber aeration tube and TRT2 - airstone. Results indicated that the standard oxygen transfer rate increased as the pressure increased. The rubber aeration tube and air stone showed no significant difference at pressure levels. Therefore, the second experiment used a pressure level of 0.025 Mpa for TRT1 and TRT2. The results from the second trial showed that the dissolved oxygen in TRT1 did not differ significantly from that in TRT2. At the same time, the other parameters, such as temperature, pH, and alkalinity, remained steady throughout the culture period. The survival rate and biomass had the highest values in TRT2, but no significant differences were found in growth performance compared to TRT1. The results of this study suggest that either rubber aeration tubes or air stones are feasible and effective alternatives to improve the water quality and growth performance of P. vannamei in experimental conditions.
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