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Hydrogen is an ideal energy source and plays an important role in increasingly global energy issues and environmental problems. Liquid hydrogen (LH2) has many advantages over other storage methods, especially in terms of energy density. However, it may cause enormous harm once it leaks accidently. LH2 leakage is a complex multiphase process involving evaporation, condensation, transfer of mass and heat, and dispersion. In order to study LH2 transportation and storage systems safety, a research project has been carried out to develop a 3D numerical model using an open-source CFD code, OpenFoam, for investigating LH2 accidental release scenarios. Since the release of LH2 is a very complex process, our strategy is to study it step by step. Therefore, in this paper we present our research work at the first stage, a dispersion process of room-temperature gaseous hydrogen without multiphase flow. A small-scale hydrogen release conducted by Sandia National Laboratories is simulated. In this experiment, room-temperature gaseous hydrogen is injected upwards into the air from a small hole with a 1.91 mm diameter. The situations of Froude (Fr) number = 99, 152, and 268 are studied, respectively. The behavior of hydrogen at different Fr numbers is discussed. When high-speed hydrogen enters the air, the speed and concentration of hydrogen decrease rapidly. In addition, the greater the speed, the faster it decays. The result shows a close range of hydrogen reach. Details about the numerical model are introduced. The simulation results are used to verify the validity of the developing numerical model for dispersion and mixing of multi-species. The simulated concentrations and velocity distribution are analyzed and compared with experimental data. The simulation shows a good agreement with the data of Sandia National Laboratories. The agreement between experiments and simulations is measured using the Pearson correlation coefficient (>0.98), which indicates excellent consistency. In the next step, we will integrate the multiphase flow and phase change into the current model. The phase change of liquid hydrogen and air will be simulated to study the release of liquid hydrogen. • Using the open-source CFD code OpenFOAM for simulation of hydrogen jet. • A good agreement between the simulations results and experimental data has been found in this paper. • When high-speed hydrogen is injected into the air, both velocity and concentration drop rapidly. • Final concentration is not sensitive to different injection velocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of a few amount of MnO 2 into 0.88NaNbO 3 -0.12SrTiO 3 lead-free ceramics was found to effectively stabilize the antiferroelectric orthorhombic P phase before its transition into antiferroelectric orthorhombic R phase, consequently featuring completely reversible electric field-induced antiferroelectric-ferroelectric phase transition. Not only reproducible double polarization hysteresis loops but also repeated sprout-like strain-field curves ensure great application potentials in large-displacement lead-free actuators owing to both large repeatedly-utilized strains of ∼0.33% and low driving field of ∼11 kV/mm. Combined results of XPS, Raman spectroscopy and dielectric properties indicate that the stabilized antiferroelectric P phase was closely related to the reduced B-site cation polarizability and oxygen vacancy concentration, while a slight change in antiferrodistortive degree would discourage the P-R phase transition. These results indicate that ionic doping is an alternative method to alter the antiferroelectric P phase stability of NaNbO 3 -based lead-free ceramics by synergistically considering the influencing factors of phase and crystal structure stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Phalloplasty is a challenging procedure in the field of repair and reconstruction. Traditional skin flap methods with prostheses or autologous tissue implantation are still common; however, with this method the reconstructed phallus is static and has a high risk of complications. Aim We aimed to use novel methods for phalloplasty to mimic the normal structure of the phallus while maintaining the patient's ability to obtain sufficient hardness and subjective controllability. Methods The neophallus comprised the bilateral pedicled neurovascular gracilis muscle, which provided neophallus volitional control; the pedicled fascia lata, which mimicked the tunica albuginea; the pedicled anterolateral thigh flap, which was used to reconstruct the neourethra and neoglans; and the thin split-thickness skin grafted on the surface of the fascia lata. The urethral anastomosis was performed simultaneously. The appearance and function of the neophallus, as well as patient satisfaction, were evaluated postoperatively. Outcomes The biomimetic dynamic phalloplasty using the bilateral pedicled gracilis muscle combined with the fascia lata was successfully performed in 4 patients. Results During follow-up at 10-21 months after the procedure, all 4 patients could complete sexual intercourse and were satisfied with the appearance and self-controllability of the neophallus. The size of the neophallus stabilized within 6 months. The tactile, deep touch sensation, and pain sensations of the neophallus partially recovered. All of the patients could stand to urinate. Clinical Implications We used the gracilis muscle combined with the fascia lata to mimic the basic structure of the corpus cavernosum and tunica albuginea and successfully reconstructed the biomimetic dynamic neophallus. Strengths and Limitations This is to our knowledge the first report of biomimetic dynamic phalloplasty using the bilateral pedicled gracilis muscle combined with the fascia lata to mimic the complex structure of the phallus and enable the achievement of erection. However, due to the small number of patients included in this study, the data have no statistical significance. More cases are needed to obtain conclusive data and examine the long-term clinical effects of this procedure. Conclusion Using novel methods for phalloplasty, we successfully maintained the patient's ability to obtain sufficient hardness and subjective controllability without the use of implants, and the preliminary clinical results are encouraging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: 46,XY, disorders of sexual development (46,XY, DSD) is a congenital genetic disease whose pathogenesis is complex and clinical manifestations are diverse. The existing molecular research has often focused on single-centre sequencing data, instead of prediction based on big data. Aims: This work aimed to fully understand the pathogenesis of 46,XY, DSD, and summarise the key pathogenic genes. Methods: Firstly, the potential pathogenic genes were identified from public data. Secondly, bioinformatics was used to predict pathogenic genes, including hub gene analysis, protein–protein interaction (PPI) and function enrichment analysis. Lastly, the genomic DNA from two unrelated families were recruited, next-generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing were performed to verify the hub genes. Key results: A total of 161 potential pathogenic genes were selected from MGI and PubMed gene sets. The PPI network was built which included 144 nodes and 194 edges. MCODE 4 was selected from PPI which scored the most significant P -value. The top 15 hub genes were ranked and identified by Cytoscape. Furthermore, three variants were found on SRD5A2 gene by genome sequencing, which belonged to the prediction hub genes. Conclusions: Our results indicate that occurrence of 46,XY, DSD is attributed to a variety of genes. Bioinformatics analysis can help us predict the hub genes and find the most core network MCODE model. Implications: Bioinformatic predictions may provide a novel perspective on better understanding the pathogenesis of 46,XY, DSD. 46,XY, disorders of sexual development (46,XY, DSD) is a congenital genetic disease. The existing molecular research has focused on single-centre sequencing data, instead of prediction based on big data. In this study, the relevant pathogenic genes are predicted by bioinformatics, and verified by gene sequencing technology. Our results indicate that occurrence of 46,XY, DSD is attributed to a variety of genes. Bioinformatics analysis can help us predict the hub genes and find the most core network MCODE model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malus sieversii (Ldb.) Roem. is the original species of modern cultivated apple and a key national essential conservation plant in China. In recent years, degradation and death of wild apple has been exacerbated by imbalances in the rhizosphere micro-ecosystems of wild apple forests due to soil nutrient loss, grazing, climate change and pest and disease outbreaks. However, the structure, diversity and response to environmental factors of wild apple rhizosphere microbial communities are so far unclear. In this study, the rhizosphere bacterial and eukaryotic communities of M. sieversii (Ldb.) Roem. in eight regions of the Yili River were analyzed using 16S/18S rDNA high-throughput sequencing technology. The results indicated that the bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs), Shannon index, and community composition were significantly lower in regions A, E, and F than in other regions. By contrast, the dominant eukaryotic communities in all regions were relatively similar in composition and differed less than the relative abundance of bacterial communities. Geographical and climatic distance were found to be key factors influencing the composition and diversity of wild apple rhizosphere microbial communities through mantel analysis. Moreover, these factors above were more correlated with bacterial diversity than with eukaryotes. This study identified the structure of wild apple rhizosphere microbial communities in Xinjiang and their interaction mechanisms under geographical and environmental gradients. It provides guidance for the sustainable management and ecological construction of wild apple forests in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the effects of mild selective brain hypothermia on aged female ischemic mice. Methods: A distal middle cerebral artery occlusion (dMCAO) model was established in aged female mice, who were then subjected to mild selective brain hypothermia immediately after the dMCAO procedure. Neurological behavioral examinations were conducted prior to and up to 35 days post‐ischemia. Infarct volume, brain atrophy, pro‐inflammation, and anti‐inflammation microglia/macrophages phenotype and white matter injury were evaluated by immunofluorescence staining. Correlations between neurological behaviors and histological parameters were evaluated by Pearson product linear regression analysis. Results: Sensorimotor and cognitive function tests confirmed the protective effect of mild selective brain hypothermia in elderly female ischemic mice. In addition, hypothermia decreased the infarct volume and brain atrophy induced by focal cerebral ischemia. Furthermore, hypothermia alleviated ischemia‐induced short‐term and long‐term white matter injury, which was correlated with behavioral deficits. Finally, hypothermia suppressed the harmful immunological response by promoting the transformation of pro‐inflammatory microglia/macrophages to anti‐inflammatory phenotype. This polarization was negatively correlated with neuronal loss and white matter injury. Conclusion: Mild selective brain hypothermia promoted long‐term functional recovery by alleviating white matter damage in an aged female mouse model of ischemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, discriminative correlation filters (DCF) based trackers have gained much attention and obtained remarkable achievements for their high efficiency and outstanding performance. However, undesirable boundary effects occur when the DCF-based trackers suffer from challenging situations, such as occlusion, background clutters, fast motion, and so on. To address these problems, this work proposes a novel adaptive spatial regularization and temporal-aware correlation filters (ASTCF) model to deal with the boundary effects which occur in the correlation filters tracking. Firstly, our ASTCF model learns a more robust correlation filter template by introducing spatial regularization and temporal-aware components into the objective function. The adaptive spatial regularization provides a more robust appearance model to handle the large appearance changes at different times; meanwhile, the temporal-aware constraint can enhance the time continuity and consistency of this model. They make correlation filters model more discriminating, and also reduce the influence of the boundary effects during the tracking process. Secondly, the objective function can be transformed into three sub-problems with closed-form solutions and effectively solved via the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Finally, we compare our tracker with some representative methods and evaluate using three different benchmarks, including OTB2015, VOT2018 and LaSOT datasets, where the experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our tracker on most of the performance criteria compared with the existing trackers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by the ABO issue of the blood bank system, in which the portions stored have constant shelf life, we consider two subsystems of perishable inventory. The two Perishable Inventory Subsystems-PIS A and PIS B, are correlated to each other through a one-way substitution of demands. Specifically, the input streams and the demand streams applied to each subsystem are four Poisson processes, which are independent of one another. However, if the shelf of PIS A (blood of type O) is empty of items, an arriving demand of type A is unsatisfied, since demand of type A cannot be satisfied by an item of type B (blood portions of type AB), but if the shelf of PIS B is empty of items, an arriving demand of type B is applied to PIS A, since demands of type B can be satisfied by both types. This one-way substitution of the issuing policy generates for PIS A a modulated Poisson demand process operating in a two-state non-Markovian environment. The performance analysis of PIS B is known from previous work. Thus, in this study we focus on the marginal performance analysis of PIS A. Based on a fluid formulation and a Markovian approximation for the one-way substitution demand process, we develop a unified approach to efficiently and accurately approximate the performance of the PIS A. The effectiveness of the approach is investigated by extensive numerical experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

0.9KNbO3-0.1BaTiO3 ceramics, with a bimodal grain size distribution and typical tetragonal perovskite structure at room temperature, were prepared by using an induced abnormal grain growth (IAGG) method at a relatively low sintering temperature. In this bimodal grain size distribution structure, the extra-large grains (~10–50 μm) were evolved from the micron-sized filler powders, and the fine grains (~0.05–0.35 μm) were derived from the sol precursor matrix. The 0.9KNbO3-0.1BaTiO3 ceramics exhibit relaxor-like behavior with a diffused phase transition near room temperature, as confirmed by the presence of the polar nanodomain regions revealed through high resolution transmission electron microscope analyses. A large room-temperature electrocaloric effect (ECE) was observed, with an adiabatic temperature drop (ΔT) of 1.5 K, an isothermal entropy change (ΔS) of 2.48 J·kg−1·K−1, and high ECE strengths of |ΔT/ΔE| = 1.50 × 10−6 K·m·V−1 and ΔS/ΔE = 2.48 × 10−6 J·m·kg−1·K−1·V−1 (directly measured at E = 1.0 MV·m−1). These greatly enhanced ECEs demonstrate that our simple IAGG method is highly appreciated for synthesizing high-performance electrocaloric materials for efficient cooling devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel AMT hapten was designed by adding a carboxyl group with 4-C spacer arms. • The sensitive and specific anti-AMT mAb was prepared based on hapten design. • The immunochromatographic assay was firstly developed for AMT rapid detection. • The established mehod can meet the requirements of MRLs for AMT residues in foods. Amitraz (AMT) is a broad-spectrum formamidine insecticide and acaricide. In this study, we produced an anti-AMT monoclonal antibody (mAb) with high performance. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration of the anti-AMT mAb was 4.418 ng/mL, the cross reactivity with other insecticides was negligible, and an affinity constant was 2.06 × 109 mmol/L. Additionally, we developed an immunochromatographic assay for the rapid detection of AMT residues in oranges, tomatoes, and eggplants. The cut-off values were 2000 μg/kg in oranges and tomato samples and 1000 μg/kg in eggplant samples and the calculated limits of detection were 14.521 μg/kg, 6.281 μg/kg, and 3.518 μg/kg in oranges, tomatoes, and eggplants, respectively, meeting the detection requirements for AMT in fruits and vegetables. The recovery rates ranged between 95.8 % and 105.2 %, consistent with the recovery rates obtained via LC-MS/MS. Our developed immunochromatographic assay can effectively, accurately, and rapidly determine AMT residues in oranges, tomatoes, and eggplants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently due to the good balance between performance and tracking speed, the discriminative correlation filter (DCF) has become a popular and excellent tracking method in short-term tracking. Computing the correlation of a response map can be efficiently performed in the Fourier domain by the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of the input, where the DFT of an image has symmetry in the Fourier domain. However, most of the correlation filter (CF)-based trackers cannot deal with the tracking results and lack the effective mechanism to adjust the tracked errors during the tracking process, thus usually perform poorly in long-term tracking. In this paper, we propose a long-term tracking framework, which includes a tracking-by-detection part and redetection part. The tracking-by-detection part is built on a DCF framework, by integrating with a multifeature fusion model, which can effectively improve the discriminant ability of the correlation filter for some challenging situations, such as occlusion and color change. The redetection part can search the tracked object in a larger region and refine the tracking results after the tracking has failed. Benefited by the proposed redetection strategy, the tracking results are re-evaluated and refined, if it is necessary, in each frame. Moreover, the reliable estimation module in the redetection part can effectively identify whether the tracking results are correct and determine whether the redetector needs to open. The proposed redetection part utilizes a saliency detection algorithm, which is fast and valid for object detection in a limited region. These two parts can be integrated into DCF-based tracking methods to improve the long-term tracking performance and robustness. Extensive experiments on OTB2015 and VOT2016 benchmarks show that our proposed long-term tracking method has a proven effectiveness and high efficiency compared with various tracking methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to explore the effect and mechanism of a low-level laser on hair follicle stem cells in full-thickness skin wound healing in mice. Full-thickness skin defects were generated by a 5-mm punch biopsy tool on the backs of depilated C57/BL6N mice, which were randomly divided thereafter into a low-dose laser treatment group (LLLT-Low), a high-dose laser treatment group (LLLT-High), and a control group (control). From the day of modeling to the day before the skin samples were taken, the wound area and wound edge of the mice in the LLLT-Low and LLLT-High groups were irradiated with a laser comb every 24 h, and the energy density was 1 J/cm2 and 10 J/cm2, respectively. The control group was irradiated with an ordinary fluorescent lamp. At 0, 3, 5, 10, and 14 days after modeling, pictures of each wound were taken, and the percent wound closure was analyzed. At 3, 5, 10, and 14 days after modeling, the samples were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and immunofluorescence (IF) staining. Whole transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) was performed on the samples on day 10. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis was performed, and the results were validated by Western blot analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The analysis of the percent of wound closure showed that healing was accelerated (significantly from 5 to 10 days) in the LLLT-Low group, but there was no clear change in the LLLT-High group. HE staining showed that the LLLT-Low group had an increasing number of hair follicles and a tendency to migrate to the center of the wound. There was no significant increase in the number of hair follicles and no obvious migration in the LLLT-High group. Immunofluorescence staining showed that the total number of CK15 + hair follicle stem cells in the LLLT-Low group was higher than that in the control group and LLLT-High group at all time points. The number and farthest migration distance of CK15 + hair follicle stem cells increased significantly with time, and after 5 days, they were significantly higher than those in the control group and LLLT-High group. RNA-Seq and Western blot analysis showed that the expression of related genes in hair follicle stem cells, including CK15, in the LLLT-Low group was upregulated. GO analysis and ELISA showed that the expression of many cytokines, represented by IL34, in the LLLT-Low group was upregulated. Low-level laser treatment can promote the proliferation, differentiation, and migration of CK15 + hair follicle stem cells by upregulating the cytokine IL34, thereby promoting skin wound healing in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Butralin is a dinitrobenzene pesticide, has been widely used as a herbicide in many crops. Its high levels of residues threaten the ecological balance and human health. Therefore, establishment of a sensitive monoclonal antibody (mAb) for rapid detection of butralin residues is critical. In this study, special haptens were designed with good preservation of the characteristic structure of target compound. After mice immunization, a highly sensitive monoclonal antibody was produced. The half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC 50) was 1.936 ng/mL. And we applied it to develop a method of lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), with vLOD value of the LFIA strip to be 10 ng/mL. In watermelon and pear samples, the cLOD values of the LFIA strip were 0.432 ng/mL and 0.426 ng/mL, respectively. The recoveries of the developed method ranged from 94.4% ± 2.1%–112.1% ± 3.4% and 89% ± 5.4%–103% ± 4.1% in watermelons and pears samples, with a CV of 2.9%–3.4% and 2.2%–5.2%, respectively. The results demonstrated that the developed method showed great prospect in the detection and monitoring of butralin in real food samples. • New haptens of butralin was synthesized successfully. • Based on the anti- butralin monoclonal antibody, the strip assay was established. • The visual detection limit for flumioxazin was 5 ng/mL. • The strip assay can be applied in on-site monitoring of watermelon and pear samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is noted for its good autonomy, concealment and anti-interference ability, errors in its inertial navigation system (INS) inevitably increase over time, leading to positional failure during long-term voyages. Terrain-assisted navigation can help the INS to correct its position. The traditional iterative closest contour point (ICCP) achieves high matching accuracy when the initial position error of the INS is small, but is prone to mismatching when the initial error is large. This study combines ICCP with particle swarm optimization (PSO) to overcome this problem. First, the global optimization ability of PSO is improved by changing the acceleration factor and introducing an artificial bee colony (ABC) onlooker bee greedy search (ABC-ωAPSO). Second, the Euclidean distance of ICCP is replaced by the Mahalanobis distance to abate the influence of system error on the matching accuracy. Finally, the initial position error is reduced by rough matching using the ABC-ωAPSO, which has global optimization capability. Next, fine matching is performed by ICCP. This two-step process resolves the sensitivity problem of ICCP to the initial position error. The experimental results revealed a good matching effect after the double-matching procedure. When the initial INS errors were 0.55′ to the east and 0.55′ to the north, the matching error was reduced to 89.3 m, suggesting that the approach can realize autonomous passive navigation of AUVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a common class of growth regulators, gibberellins (GAs) are widely used in agricultural production. However, the abuse and misuse of GAs have led to the problem of high residues in crops. The existing detection methods are still mainly instrumental, and rapid and sensitive detection of GAs remains a challenge. In this study, we designed a novel hapten scheme by analyzing the structure of GAs, which enabled the prepared mAb to simultaneously detect common GAs (GA 3 , GA 1 , GA 4 and GA 7) with high sensitivity and homogeneity. Subsequently, a colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay (GICA) for GAs detection was established by combining mAb with synthetic gold nanoparticles, which could simplify the sample pre-treatment step and the calculated limit of detection, visual limit of detection, cut-off values and linear ranges were 0.09 mg/kg, 0.2 mg/kg, 8 mg/kg, 0.13–1.36 mg/kg for rice and 0.11 mg/kg, 0.2 mg/kg, greater than 8 mg/kg, 0.13–2.45 mg/kg for tomatoes. The recovery assays of GA 3 -spiked samples ranged between 95.1% and 105.1%. The results indicate that our developed method can be used for the rapid, sensitive and efficient on-site detection of GAs in food. • A GA 3 -hapten was designed to produce a highly sensitive and versatile mAb. • A visual immuno-sensing platform was developed. • The results showed a visual LOD of 0.2 mg/kg in rice and tomato samples. • No significant difference in recovery rates were seen between GICA and ic-ELISA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prepared a monoclonal antibody (mAb) which was sensitive and specific against xylazine based on a new hapten. The 50%-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the mAb against xylazine was 0.399 ng mL−1 and the mAb was of the IgG2b subclass. A cross-reactivity test showed that the mAb had very high specificity for xylazine. An indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) and gold nanoparticle-based lateral-flow test (GNT) strip were developed for the rapid screening of xylazine in milk samples. The limit of detection (LOD) and cut-off value of the GNT assay were evaluated to be 20 and 200 ng mL−1 in milk samples with the naked eye. The average recoveries of xylazine which was detected by the ic-ELISA ranged from 95.1% to 105.1%. Real samples were used to confirm the accuracy of the developed GNT strip. These results demonstrated that we had developed a very reliable method for rapid detection of xylazine in milk samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a high sensitivity and specificity monoclonal antibody (mAb) was developed based on the hydroxy and carboxy-termini of ochratoxin A (OTA). A fluorescent microsphere immunochromatographic test strip (FM-ICTS) was assembled for the rapid detection the OTA in rice flour. Some relevant parameters were optimized including the best concentration of coating antigen and optimal diluent buffer composition. Under optimal conditions, the strip assay had a visual limit of detection (LOD) of 2 ng/mL and a cut-off value of 16 ng/mL for OTA in rice flour samples. By means of a strip scan reader, we obtained a quantitative measurement for OTA with an LOD of 1.27 ng/mL. No significant difference in the strip test results was seen when compared to an ic-ELISA assay or LC–MS/MS. This also shows, therefore, that the FM-ICTS has potential application for rapid and accurate quantitative detection in the market place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a monoclonal antibody with selectivity for clopidol was produced based on a new hapten. The 50% inhibition concentration (IC50) for the developed ic-ELISA was 0.275 ng/mL. Cross-reactivity tests showed that the monoclonal antibody had high specificity for clopidol. Using this antibody, a lateral-flow colloidal gold immunoassay (LCGA) was created for the rapid screening of clopidol in raw chicken samples. With the naked eye, the cut-off value of the strip assay was 5 μg/kg for clopidol in chicken samples. Therefore, this LCGA provides a sensitive and rapid method for on-site detection of clopidol in chicken samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many scenarios, where videos are transmitted through bandwidth‐limited channels for subsequent semantic analytics, the choice of frame rates has to balance between bandwidth constraints and analytics performance. Faced with this practical challenge, this study focuses on enhancing object tracking at low frame rates and proposes a learning Interpolation for tracking framework. This framework embeds an implicit video frame interpolation sub‐network, which is concatenated and jointly trained with another object tracking sub‐network. Once a low frame‐rate video is an input, it is first mapped into a high frame‐rate latent video, based on which the tracker is learned. Novel strategies and loss functions are derived to ensure the effective end‐to‐end optimisation of the authors' network. On several challenging benchmarks and settings, their method achieves a highly competitive tradeoff between frame rate and tracking accuracy. As is known, the implications of interpolation on semantic video analytics and tracking remain unexplored, and the authors expect their method to find many applications in mobile embedded vision, Internet of Things and edge computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) is an indole‐tetramine mycotoxin commonly produced by Penicillium and Aspergillus and is widely found in agricultural products, fermented food, and feed. Food contaminated with CPA poses a substantial health risk to consumers. Therefore, eco‐friendly immunoassays, including an indirect competitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ic‐ELISA) and a lateral flow immunochromatographic strip (LFICS), were developed to monitor CPA in maize and rice samples. For this purpose, a monoclonal antibody (3H12) posed highly resistant to pH (5.6 to 9.6) and ethanol (≤50%) was generated by mouse immunization. Negative maize and rice samples or samples spiked with CPA were extracted with ethanol/0.01 M sodium borate buffer (4/1, v/v, pH 8.4). For ic–ELISA analysis, the limits of detection (LODs) were 0.48 and 0.28 ng/g for maize and rice samples, respectively. The recovery for spiked maize was 76.9% to 83.5% with the highest variable coefficient (CVmax) being 9.32%. For spiked rice, the recovery was 85.3% to 105.1% with a CVmax of 8.56%. For LFICS analysis, the visible LODs were 2.5 and 1 ng/g and cutoff values were 5 and 2.5 ng/g for maize and rice samples, respectively. The LFICS method gave results within 5 to 10 min, providing an auxiliary analytical tool for the rapid, sensitive, and portable screening of the massive samples onsite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a kitasamycin (KIT) hapten was prepared through the o-carboxymethoxylamine method and used to produce a monoclonal antibody against KIT and josamycin (JOS). The half inhibition concentration for an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was 1.49 and 2.67 ng/mL, respectively. Based on this antibody, a gold immunochromatographic assay (GICA) was developed for the detection of KIT and JOS residues in milk and egg samples. A hand-held strip scanner was used for quantitative analysis, with limits of detection for KIT and JOS of 1.51 and 1.91 μg/L in milk, and 3.0 and 2.72 μg/kg in eggs. The proposed GICA was validated by LC–MS/MS, which indicated that the GICA method would be a useful tool for the on-site detection of KIT and JOS residues in milk and egg samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An anti-cimaterol (cima) monoclonal antibody, 2H8, was prepared and used to develop an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) and an immunochromatographic test strip assay for the detection of cima, a newly described β-agonist. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration of the antibody was 1.56 ng/mL, and no cross-reactivity with other β-adrenergic agonists was observed. The antibody's limit of detection was 0.416 ng/mL, and its linear range of detection was 0.416–5.868 ng/mL. The recovery rates of cima in swine urine ranged from 86% to 92.5%, and the test strip had a cut-off value of 10 ng/mL. Both ic-ELISA and the developed strip assay are effective when detecting cima in swine urine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Praziquantel (PZQ) is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug used in mammals and fish. In this study, we developed an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) for the detection of PZQ residues. The hapten PZQ-HS produced by introducing an amino group at a benzene ring synthesized the immunogen and the coating antigen with carrier proteins. Highly sensitive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were prepared following mouse immunization and cell fusion. Under optimum conditions, the half maximal inhibitory concentration of the cell line 4E9 was 7.4 ng/mL, and the working range was 2.4–22.8 ng/mL. Immunochromatographic strips (ICS) were developed for the rapid detection of PZQ residues in mackerel. The reliability of the ICS assay was verified with PZQ-negative mackerel and confirmed by HPLC/MS. The cutoff value for ICS was 50 ng/mL PZQ. Our findings revealed that ic-ELISA and ICS can be used for the rapid detection of PZQ in mackerel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed a sensitive monoclonal antibody, 3A3, to salinomycin (SLM) and methyl salinomycin (MLN). The monoclonal antibody 3A3 is highly specific for SLM with an antibody halfinhibitory concentration (IC 50) of 0.86 ng/mL, a detection limit of 0.28 ng/mL, and a linear detection range of 0.28–2.26 ng/mL. The cross-reaction values of SLM and MLN were 100% and 74.48%, respectively. The recovery of honey samples ranged from 94.6% to 100.4%, thus indicating that this analytical method can be used for the analysis of real honey samples. In addition, immunochromatographic bands were developed for qualitative, semi-quantitative and speckle detection analysis. The critical values of SLM and MLN in honey were 40 and 40 ng/mL, respectively. The results showed that these analyses can be used for real samples, with the most stringent MRL of 40 ng/mL, for SLM and MLN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of rising global energy demand, phase change materials (PCMs) have become a research hotspot in recent years due to their good thermal energy storage capacity. Single PCMs suffer from defects such as easy leakage when melting, poor thermal conductivity and cycling stability, which are not conducive to heat storage. Therefore, composite PCMs are gaining more and more attention for future applications. Due to the unique physicochemical properties of nanomaterials, it was found that composites of nanomaterials and PCMs can reduce supercooling, suppress phase separation, and improve thermal conductivity and cycle stability. The nano-enhanced PCMs have great applications in the field of phase change energy storage. Although many studies have been reported on nano-enhanced PCMs, there has been no systematic summary of nano-enhanced PCMs so far. This article focuses on improving the thermal performance of PCMs by the types and properties of nano-additives. In this review, the latest research progress on PCMs enhanced by nanomaterials was summarized, ranging from the variety of nanomaterials, the synthesis of nanocomposite PCMs, the effect of nanomaterials on the thermal conductivity of PCMs, and the application of nanocomposite PCMs. This work provides reference value for the future application of nano-enhanced PCMs and is beneficial to expand the applications of nanomaterials in the field of phase change energy storage materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A self-powered monitoring and warning system is proposed for distributed smart mariculture. • The remote SMWS is integrated with anti-theft module and sea water sensor module powered by MHTEG. • The multi-electrode pairs of TENG is optimized for improving charge transfer efficiency. • MHTEG exhibits an ultrahigh output energy of 39.6 mJ and excellent energy conversion efficiency of 22.61%. • A peak power of 20.9 W/m3 can reach by MHTEG. Remote monitoring of distributed mariculture based on Internet of Things (IoT) has become an important part of smart marine agriculture, however, attaining stable and long-lasting power supply from conventional commercial batteries remains challenging, which significantly restricts the development of blue economic toward intelligent and diversified. Herein, a self-powered monitoring and warning system (SMWS) for smart mariculture based on a nodding duck structured multi-layer hybrid triboelectric-electromagnetic generator (MHTEG) is developed that endows improved electrical output performances and energy conversion efficiency. The structure of multi-electrode pairs is investigated with various ratios of nylon rod diameter to electrode width for optimizing the charge transfer efficiency of MHTEG. A peak output power density of 20.9 W/m3, ultra-high output energy of 39.6 mJ and excellent energy conversion efficiency of 22.61% can be achieved by the MHTEG with a high charge transfer efficiency of over 88%. Moreover, combining the MHTEG with an anti-theft and seawater sensor module, the remote SMWS is designed for monitoring and providing early-warning in marine farming. Such a design renders a practicable strategy and generic energy solution for efficient ocean wave energy scavenging and enabling distributed mariculture with intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of waste oil is a food safety issue that requires urgent resolution. In this study, a novel hapten was designed for the rapid detection of capsaicinoids, a marker of waste oil, and a monoclonal antibody (MAb) 5D7 was generated that is specific for three major capsaicinoids: capsaicin (CPC), dihydrocapsaicin (DCPC), and N-vanillylnonanamide (N-V). The half maximal inhibitory concentrations of MAb 5D7 for CPC, DCPC, and N-V were 1.12, 0.8, and 0.87 ng/mL, respectively. An immunochromatographic strip test based on MAb 5D7 was established for these three capsaicinoids, with visual inspection limits of <1.0 ng/mL, which satisfies the requirement for the rapid on-site inspection of waste oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans and animals are exposed to mycotoxins naturally present in foods. Ochratoxin A (OTA), one of the most abundant and toxic mycotoxins, is ubiquitous in nature and harmful to humans and animals. In this study, we developed a rapid, simple, specific, and sensitive lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay for detection of OTA in 0.01 M phosphate-buffered saline solution (PBS) (pH 7.4) and in red wine. We produced sensitive and selective monoclonal antibody against OTA. Under optimized conditions, the cut-off limit of the test strip was 10 ng/mL OTA in 0.01 M PBS (pH 7.4) and in red wine. The results were obtained within 10 min. Therefore, our developed method is useful for the detection of OTA in red wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe the development of a rapid, simple, specific, and sensitive immunochromatographic strip test based on an antibody-antigen reaction for detection of tulathromycin (TULA) in samples of 0.01 M PBS pH 7.4, pure milk and honey. The monoclonal antibodies specifically recognized the corresponding antigens produced in our laboratory. Under optimized conditions, the cut-off limits of the test strips for TULA in 0.01 M PBS pH 7.4 was found to be 2.5 ng/mL. Meanwhile, with simple preparation for detection in pure milk and honey samples, the cut-off limits for TULA were found to be 5 and 10 ng/mL, respectively. Each test can be evaluated in 5 min. In summary, this lateral-flow device provides a sensitive, effective, specific, and rapid method for detection of TULA residues in food matrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of pesticide residues in crops is a significant public concern. Due to the large number of samples and pesticides, a reliable, simple, cost-effective, and high-throughput analytic method is required. In this study, we developed a gold nanoparticle (GNP) immunochromatographic assay (ICA) for the rapid detection of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) residues in bean sprouts. A monoclonal antibody against 6-BA, having a half-maximum inhibition concentration of 2.25 ng/mL, was labeled with GNPs and fixed onto a glass fiber membrane to create a conjugate pad. Coating antigen and goat anti-mouse antibody were sprayed onto a nitrocellulose membrane to form the test line and control line, respectively. The visual limit of detection and cutoff limit of ICA were 10 and 80 ng/g in bean sprouts, respectively. The results of ICA were obtained within 10 min with the naked eye. Therefore, ICA is a rapid tool for the on-site screening and detection of 6-BA in bean sprouts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing attention is now being directed to the utilization of polymyxin B (PMB) as a last-line treatment for life-threatening infections caused by multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Unfortunately, polymyxins resistance is also increasingly reported, leaving a serious threat to human health. Therefore, the establishment of rapid detection methods for PMB residues is highly essential to ensure public health. In this study, two monoclonal antibodies (mAb; 2A2 and 3C6) were obtained using PMB-bovine serum albumin as the immunogen and PMB-ovalbumin as the coating antigen, which were prepared with N-(γ-maleimidobutyryloxy) succinimide ester and glutaraldehyde as cross-linking agents, respectively. Through an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, resultant two mAbs were compared and the results indicated that 3C6 showed higher sensitivity with a half maximum inhibition concentration of 13.13 ng/mL. Based on 3C6, a gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)-based immunochromatographic test (ICT) strip was then established, the mechanism of which is that free PMB competes with the fixed coating antigen to combine with mAb labeled by AuNPs. Using ICT strip to detect milk and animal feed samples revealed the visible detection limits were 25 ng/mL and 500 μg/kg, respectively and the cutoff limits were 100 ng/mL and 1000 μg/kg, respectively. The ICT strip provides results within 15 min, facilitating rapid and semi-quantitative analysis of PMB residues in milk and animal feed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay (ICA) strip was developed for determination of tenuazonic acid (TeA) using both semi-quantitative and quantitative methods. The ICA strip was based on produced anti-TeA monoclonal antibody, and could be used for TeA analysis in cereal and fruit juice, with visual limits of detection of 1600 ng/g and 400 ng/mL, and cut-off values of 6400 ng/g and 3200 ng/mL, respectively. The calculated limits of detection values were 126.4 ng/g and 65.3 ng/mL for wheat and apple juice samples, respectively. The recovery rates ranged from 90% to 129%. In summary, the developed strip was effective for TeA detection and would be suitable for on-site detection and rapid screening of samples. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An immunochromatographic lateral flow strip test was developed for the detection of natamycin (Nata) residues in milk and cheese samples. Monoclonal antibody (mAb) against Nata was produced with a half maximal inhibitory concentration of 1.85 μg L−1. MAb conjugated with gold nanoparticles was the detection reagent. Nata conjugated with ovalbumin via the 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide method immobilized on a nitrocellulose membrane was the capture reagent. This semi-quantitative method required only 15 min to complete. The optimum concentrations of coating antigen and mAb were 0.15 µg mL−1and 0.2 µg mL−1, respectively. Based on an optical density scanner, the visual limit of detection of Nata was 5 μg L−1and 10 μg kg−1in milk and yoghurt samples, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Three heterogenous haptens (3,4,5-Trimethoxybenzoic acid [H1], 3,4,5-Trimethoxyphenylacetic acid [H2], 3-(3,4,5-Trimethoxyphenyl) propanoic acid [H3]) were used to synthesize immunogens, with the aim of screening a more sensitive monoclonal antibody (mAb) for trimethoprim (TMP). H2 proved to be the best heterogenous hapten. The mAb was specific with no cross-reactivity with other structurally related chemicals. The 50% maximal inhibitory concentration of the mAb against TMP was 1.98 µg L−1, which is more sensitive compared with the mAb reported in our previous work. A mAb-based gold immunochromatographic assay (GICA) was established to analyze TMP residues in milk and honey samples. The concentration of coating antigen in test line and concentration of mAb conjugated with gold nanoparticles was 0.3 µg mL−1and 0.25 µg mL−1, respectively. Under optimized conditions, the visual limit of detection concentration of TMP spiked in milk and honey samples was 10 µg L−1and 15 µg kg−1, respectively. The proposed GICA provides rapid and simple determination of TMP residues in milk and honey samples. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An immunochromatographic strip was developed for detection of acetamiprid (AC) and cross-reactivity with thiacloprid (TC) in cucumber and apple samples. This detection system was developed based on a sensitive and specific monoclonal antibody produced in our laboratory. Under optimized conditions, the cut-off limits of the test strip for AC were found to be 1 and 0.25 ng/mL for TC in phosphate-buffered saline. Meanwhile, with simple preparation for detection cucumber and apple samples, the cut-off limits for AC were found to be 5 and 2.5 ng/mL for TC in cucumber samples. The immunochromatographic assay also revealed AC cut-off values of 30 and 15 ng/mL in apple samples. Each test can be evaluated within 5 min. The data indicate that the method is sensitive, rapid, specific, and has the advantages of simplicity; therefore, this immunochromatographic assay is a useful screening method for detection of AC and TC residues in cucumber and apple samples. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study was conducted in order to evaluate the role of low-level laser treatment (LLLT) in hair growth in C3H/HeJ mice. Healthy C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into two groups: with and without low-level laser treatment. The skin color of each mouse was observed each day. Skin samples were collected for H&E, immunofluorescence, PCR, and western blot analysis, to observe the morphology of hair follicles and detect the expression levels of Wnt10b and β-catenin. Observation of skin color demonstrated that black pigmentation started significantly earlier in the laser group than in the control group. Hair follicle number in both groups showed no difference; however, the hair follicle length presented a significant difference. Wnt10b protein was detected on the second day in hair matrix cells in the LLLT group but not in the control group. PCR and western blot results both illustrated that expression of Wnt10b and β-catenin was significantly higher in the LLLT group than in the control group. Our study illustrated that low-level laser treatment can promote hair regrowth by inducing anagen phase of hair follicles via initiating the Wnt10b/β-catenin pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbofuran is a highly toxic pesticide used in fruits and vegetables. In this study, we produced a specific and sensitive monoclonal antibody (mAb) which was prepared based on a hapten that was derivatized with benzofuranol against carbofuran. Following mice immunization and cell fusion, we obtained three monoclonal cell lines: 6D5, 3H2, and 3C6. The cell line 3H2 generated mAb with the highest affinity and sensitivity. The half maximal inhibitory concentration was 0.3 ng/mL, and the cross-reactivity was <1%. Based on this mAb, an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) and immunochromatographic test strip (ICS) assay were developed to detect carbofuran residues in cucumbers and apples. The working range of ic-ELISA was 0.1–1 ng/mL, and the cutoff value of ICS was 1 ng/mL. The analytical recovery of carbofuran in cucumber and apple samples ranged from 81% to 97%. Both methods represent rapid screening tools for carbofuran detection in fruits and vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sensitive monoclonal antibody, 3G10, derived from a mouse immunized with an immunogen of salbutamol hapten conjugated to keyhole limpet hemocyanin was developed against β-agonists, with a view to establishing a rapid gold nanoparticle immunochromatographic strip. The antibody displayed a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 1.04 ng/mL for salbutamol and simultaneously detected nine other β-agonists (clenbuterol, cimatero, brombuterol, mabuterol, terbutaline, clenpenterol, carbuterol, mapenterol, pirbuterol) with uniform cross-reactivity. The immunochromatographic strip had cut-off values of 5 ng/mL for salbutamol and clenbuterol, 20 ng/mL for cimaterol, brombuterol and mabuterol, and 50 ng/mL for terbutaline, clenpenterol, carbuterol, mapenterol and pirbuterol. The collective advantages of the newly developed strip, such as high affinity, sensitivity and rapidity, support its utility in detecting β-agonists from actual biological samples, such as urine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we developed an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) and an immunochromatographic assay to detect the furazolidone metabolite, 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ). The detection of AOZ was based on the AOZ derivative 3-([2-nitrophenyl]methyleneamino]-2-oxazolidinone (2-NPAOZ). 3-([(3-Carboxyphenyl)methylene]-amino)-2-oxazolidinone (2-CPAOZ) was used as the immunizing hapten and a conjugate of AOZ and glyoxylic acid (AOZ-A) was used as the coating hapten. The monoclonal anti-2-NPAOZ antibody, 5G12, was generated with a half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.2 ng/mL and a line of 0.06–0.66 ng/mL. Its cross reactivity with other analogues was less than 8%. Spiked catfish samples (0.1, 0.2, and 0.5 μg/kg) were analyzed with the proposed system. The ic-ELISA showed a recovery range of 86.2–118.5% and the intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation ranged from 4.3% to 9.4%. Under the optimum assay conditions, the immunochromatographic assay had a visual cut-off value of 0.5 μg/kg in catfish samples. Both methods can be used to detect AOZ in catfish samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid, simple, and sensitive immunochromatographic strip test has been developed to detect aldicarb (ALD) in 0.01 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) (pH 7.4) and cucumber samples. The test was developed with a sensitive monoclonal antibody specific for ALD, generated by immunizing BALB/c mice with a well-characterized ALD – keyhole limpet hemocyanin conjugate, produced in our laboratory. Under the optimized condition, the cut-off limits of test strip for ALD were found to be 25 ng/mL in 0.01 M PBS (pH 7.4) and 100 ng/mL in cucumber samples, and the highest standard relative deviation was 9.05%. Both results were obtained within 5 min. The data indicate that the method is sensitive, rapid, and specific, so this immunochromatographic test strip has utility for the rapid high-throughput screening of the pesticide, especially in food samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lateral flow assay for rapid, simple and efficient determination of L. monocytogenes is presented. A monoclonal antibody (mAb) 1C1 against the peptide from P60 protein of L. monocytogenes was prepared and labeled with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The mAb 1C1 was paired with the mAb 10E7 against the P60 protein of all the Listeria spp. and used as a capture bioligand in a lateral flow assay. The AuNP-based strip test can detect the supernatant of eight common L. monocytogenes serotypes including 1/2a, 1/2b, and 4b with an equivalent detection limit of 3.7 × 10 CFU⋅mL but does not detect four other Listeria spp. ( L. ivanovii, L. innocua, L. welshimeri, and L. grayi). There was no cross-reactivity with six other Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The method was applied to the quantification of L. monocytogenes species in spiked milk samples within 13 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We developed a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to detect norfloxacin (NOR) using a novel hapten by introducing an amino group via amido linkage into the piperazine ring of NOR. The sensitivity of an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (icELISA) based on this mAb showed an improved IC50value from 1.18 to 0.12 ng/mL and the limit of detection from 0.37 to 0.05 ng/mL by using a heterologous coating (pazufloxacin coupled to ovalbumin). The recovery rate for NOR in milk ranged from 77.3% to 117.8%. Cross-reactivity (CR) experiments showed good CR with nine common fluoroquinolone analogs: pefloxacin, lomfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, dafloxacin, sparfloxacin, ofloxacin, marbofloxacin and flumequine. Furthermore, based on this antigen–antibody combination, an immunochromatographic strip with cut-off value of 1 ng/mL was developed. Given their good sensitivity and CR, the developed icELISA and immunochromatographic strip could be useful for detection of NOR and its analogs in milk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus ofListeriaconsists of heterologous species and its presence in the food chain is an indicator of poor hygiene. However, a portable and simple paper sensor for detection of listeria spp. with high accuracy was still unknown. In this study, we prepared a pair of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that specifically recognize the P60 protein on the cell surface ofListeriaspp. The selected pair was found to be sensitive to both the P60 protein and cell body of the genusListeria. On this basis, a rapid paper sensor was established for sensitiveListeriaspp. detection. The developed paper sensor broadly cross-reacted with the 12 tested strains ofListeriaand the sensitivity in PBS buffer was 103–104colony-forming units (CFU) judged by the gray values of the test line. No cross-reaction with any other gram-positive or gram-negative strains tested was observed. A study using milk samples showed that this paper sensor could detect samples contaminated with low levels of the testedListeriaspp. (1–9 CFU/mL) after 8 h of enrichment and further concentrate for approximately 10 times by centrifugation. The results were in accordance with those obtained using the polymerase chain reaction method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicotine (NCT) is commonly contained in e-cigarette oils, and long-term nicotine intake can exacerbate cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, and lung cancer. Therefore, there is a need to develop a fast and sensitive method for detecting NCT in e-cigarette oils. We prepared anti-NCT monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), which belong to the IgG2 subclass. The optimum mAb had a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC 50) of 6.81 ng/mL for NCT. We developed a colloidal gold immunochromatographic strip (CG-ICS) to detect NCT content with a visual cut-off and limit of detection of 20 ng/mL and 0.40 ng/mL, respectively. The recovery rates of NCT from spiked samples ranged between 100.36% and 109.96% based on CG-ICS. These results were consistent with those obtained from high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We confirmed the reliability of CG-ICS using NCT-positive samples. Therefore, CG-ICS represents an effective and rapid on-site screening tool for the detection of NCT in e-cigarette oils. • Anti-NCT mAbs were prepared, which had a IC 50 of 6.81 ng/mL for NCT. • CG-ICS was developed to detect NCT content with a visual cut-off and LOD of 20 ng/mL and 0.40 ng/mL, respectively. • The recovery rates of NCT from spiked samples ranged between 100.36% and 109.96% based on CG-ICS. • These results were consistent with those obtained from HPLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) against trimethoprim (TMP) was produced and a mAb-based indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) was established to detect TMP residues in milk, honey, and fish samples. The working range of ic-ELISA and IC50was 1.83–9.36 and 4.14 µg L−1. The average recoveries of TMP from TMP-spiked milk, honey, and fish sample were 103.5–118.0%, 100.3–107.1%, and 91.5–108.1%, respectively. The results revealed that our developed mAb-based ic-ELISA can be effectively applied to detect TMP residues in these food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folic acid (FA) is an important vitamin for human growth and development, especially for pregnant women. A sensitive, rapid, and accurate FA detection method is required to assess the nutritional quality and safety of foods. A monoclonal antibody against FA was prepared for the development of indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) and lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay (ICA) strip. The 50% inhibitory concentration and limit of detection of ic-ELISA were 0.12 and 0.018 ng/ml, respectively. The visual limit of detection and cut-off values of the lateral-flow ICA strip were 0.5 and 2.5 ng/ml, respectively. Using the ICA strip, FA recovery rates were 89–98% from energy drinks and 73–87% for milk samples and were in good agreement with those obtained from the conventional microbiological assay method. Our developed methods are sensitive, convenient, effective, and suitable for on-site detection and rapid mass screening of food samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global optimization is challenging to solve due to its nonlinearity and multimodality. Traditional algorithms such as the gradient-based methods often struggle to deal with such problems and one of the current trends is to use metaheuristic algorithms. In this paper, a novel hybrid population-based global optimization algorithm, called hybrid firefly algorithm (HFA), is proposed by combining the advantages of both the firefly algorithm (FA) and differential evolution (DE). FA and DE are executed in parallel to promote information sharing among the population and thus enhance searching efficiency. In order to evaluate the performance and efficiency of the proposed algorithm, a diverse set of selected benchmark functions are employed and these functions fall into two groups: unimodal and multimodal. The experimental results show better performance of the proposed algorithm compared to the original version of the firefly algorithm (FA), differential evolution (DE) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) in the sense of avoiding local minima and increasing the convergence rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sensitive monoclonal antibody for targeting pentachlorophenol was prepared with an immunization procedure and cell fusion. The antibody was characterized with an indirect competitive enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which had an IC50 of 0.2 ng/ ml for pentachlorophenol under optimized conditions. The crossreactivity of the ELISA to related compounds was very low. The recovery of pentachlorophenol was 99.2-105% in water samples and 89-110.9% in fish samples. A simple, rapid, and sensitive immunochromatographic strip was produced based on the monoclonal antibody, with a qualitative visual limit of detection of 2 ng/ml in water samples and 10 ng/ml in fish samples, indicating its potential utility in monitoring pentachlorophenol in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) in food samples can cause severe gastroenteritis even at low doses. Detection of SEs with a single assay would not only improve reliability and portability, but would also save time. In this paper, for the first time, a multiplexed gold-nanoparticle-based immunochromatographic (ICT) strip that allows the simultaneous detection of the five main SEs has been reported: SEA, SEB, SEC, SED, and SEE. Based on the sandwich immunoassay of each SE, a multiplexed ICT strip with five test lines is developed. Sensitive and specific paired monoclonal antibodies facilitate the detection, allowing for high sensitivity and good specificity. The portable biosensor platform can simultaneously detect SEA, SEB, SEC, SED, and SEE at concentrations as low as 2.5, 2.5, 2.5, 1, and 5 ng mL−1, respectively. The entire test can be performed within 15 min and requires no sophisticated instruments except a portable strip reader. To evaluate the multiplexed strip, naturally SEA and SEC contaminated milk samples and pure milk samples spiked with the five SEs are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sensitive gold nanoparticle immunochromatographic strip assay and indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ic-ELISA) were developed for the detection of ractopamine (RCT), a beta-adrenergic agonist. The immunogen and coating antigen were synthesized by the carbodiimide method and conjugated with keyhole limpet hemocyanin and ovalbumin, respectively. The highly sensitive and specific monoclonal antibody was prepared for RCT, with a 50% inhibition concentration of 0.05 ng/ml and had no cross-reactivity with other beta-adrenergic agonists. An ultrasensitive and rapid immunochromatographic strip assay was developed with an RCT cutoff value of 2 ng/ml. Both developed methods can be used for RCT detection in swine urine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]