Repeatability and reproducibility of quantitative OCT angiography measurements from table-top and portable Flex Spectralis devices.

Purpose: The recent development of a portable investigational handheld OCT-angiography (OCTA) device has allowed for expansion of imaging into the operating room (OR) in addition to standard in-clinic imaging. The aim of this study was to assess intravisit repeatability and intervisit reproducibility of retinal microvasculature measures and central retinal thickness for in-clinic table-top and portable OR compatible OCTA devices.

Methods: Repeated 10 × 10 OCTA images were acquired in 20 healthy adult participants on two separate visit days using Spectralis spectral-domain OCTA table-top and investigational armature suspended Flex systems.

Chronic Effects of e-Cigarette Aerosol Inhalation on Macular Perfusion Assessed Using OCT Angiography.

To determine whether there are significant differences in the microvasculature and central retinal thickness (CRT) between e-cigarette users (user group) and age-matched nonusers (control group) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). In this prospective cross-sectional observational study, OCTA images were acquired of 52 eyes of 26 users and 25 eyes of 25 age-matched nonusers. Daily e-cigarette users with no ocular history were identified from provider information in the electronic medical record.

Rapid and Portable Quantification of HIV RNA via a Smartphone-enabled Digital CRISPR Device and Deep Learning.

For the 28.2 million people in the world living with HIV/AIDS and receiving antiretroviral therapy, it is crucial to monitor their HIV viral loads with ease. To this end, rapid and portable diagnostic tools that can quantify HIV RNA are critically needed.

Ensemble learning using traditional machine learning and deep neural network for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.

In recent years, Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis using neuroimaging and deep learning has drawn great research attention. However, due to the scarcity of training neuroimaging data, many deep learning models have suffered from severe overfitting. In this study, we propose an ensemble learning framework that combines deep learning and machine learning.

Sensitive and Quantitative Point-of-Care HIV Viral Load Quantification from Blood Using a Power-Free Plasma Separation and Portable Magnetofluidic Polymerase Chain Reaction Instrument.

Point-of-care (POC) HIV viral load (VL) tests are needed to enhance access to HIV VL testing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and to enable HIV VL self-testing at home, which in turn have the potential to enhance the global management of the disease. While methods based on real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are highly sensitive and quantitatively accurate, they often require bulky and expensive instruments, making applications at the POC challenging. On the other hand, although methods based on isothermal amplification techniques could be performed using low-cost instruments, they have shown limited quantitative accuracies, i.

Automatic Acne Object Detection and Acne Severity Grading Using Smartphone Images and Artificial Intelligence.

Skin image analysis using artificial intelligence (AI) has recently attracted significant research interest, particularly for analyzing skin images captured by mobile devices. Acne is one of the most common skin conditions with profound effects in severe cases. In this study, we developed an AI system called AcneDet for automatic acne object detection and acne severity grading using facial images captured by smartphones.

Septins promote caspase activity and coordinate mitochondrial apoptosis.

Apoptosis is a form of regulated cell death essential for tissue homeostasis and embryonic development. Apoptosis also plays a key role during bacterial infection, yet some intracellular bacterial pathogens (such as Shigella flexneri, whose lipopolysaccharide can block apoptosis) can manipulate cell death programs as an important survival strategy. Septins are a component of the cytoskeleton essential for mitochondrial dynamics and host defense, however, the role of septins in regulated cell death is mostly unknown.

A Portable Droplet Magnetofluidic Device for Point-of-Care Detection of Multidrug-Resistant .

is an emerging multidrug-resistant fungal pathogen that can cause severe and deadly infections. To date, has spurred outbreaks in healthcare settings in thirty-three countries across five continents. To control and potentially prevent its spread, there is an urgent need for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics that can rapidly screen patients, close patient contacts, and surveil environmental sources.

Filtration-assisted magnetofluidic cartridge platform for HIV RNA detection from blood.

The ability to detect and quantify HIV RNA in blood is essential to sensitive detection of infections and monitoring viremia throughout treatment. Current options for point-of-care HIV diagnosis ( lateral flow rapid tests) lack sensitivity for early detection and are unable to quantify viral load. HIV RNA diagnostics typically require extensive pre-processing of blood to isolate plasma and extract nucleic acids, in addition to expensive equipment for conducting nucleic acid amplification and fluorescence detection.

Plasmonic assay for amplification-free cancer biomarkers detection in clinical tissue samples.

Developing countries have seen a rise in cancer incidence and are projected to harbor three-quarters of all cancer-related mortality by 2030. While disproportionally affected by the burden of cancer, these regions are ill-equipped to handle the diagnostic caseload. The low number of trained pathologists per capita results in delayed diagnosis and treatment, ultimately contributing to increased mortality rates.

exploits host exocytosis to promote cell-to-cell spread.

The facultative intracellular pathogen uses an actin-based motility process to spread within human tissues. Filamentous actin from the human cell forms a tail behind bacteria, propelling microbes through the cytoplasm. Motile bacteria remodel the host plasma membrane into protrusions that are internalized by neighboring cells.

Assessment of Macular Microvasculature in Healthy Eyes of Infants and Children Using OCT Angiography.

Purpose: To assess macular vasculature in healthy infants and children using OCT angiography (OCTA).

Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.

Participants: One hundred thirty-five normal maculae of 89 healthy infants and children (mean age, 8.

Macular Microvascular Findings in Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy on Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography.

Background And Objective: To describe depth-resolved macular microvasculature abnormalities in patients with familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).

Patients And Methods: Twenty-two eyes (11 eyes of six patients with FEVR and 11 control eyes) were imaged with OCTA. Graders qualitatively analyzed the OCTA images of the superficial and deep vascular complexes for abnormal vascular features and compared to fluorescein angiography (FA).

Role of septins in microbial infection.

Septins are widely recognized as a component of the cytoskeleton that is essential for cell division, and new work has shown that septins can recognise cell shape by assembling into filaments on membrane regions that display micrometer-scale curvature (e.g. at the cytokinetic furrow).

The Host Scaffolding Protein Filamin A and the Exocyst Complex Control Exocytosis during InlB-Mediated Entry of .

is a foodborne bacterium that causes gastroenteritis, meningitis, or abortion. induces its internalization (entry) into some human cells through interaction of the bacterial surface protein InlB with its host receptor, the Met tyrosine kinase. InlB and Met promote entry, in part, through stimulation of localized exocytosis.

Interaction of microbial pathogens with host exocytic pathways.

Many microbial pathogens co-opt or perturb host membrane trafficking pathways. This review covers recent examples in which microbes interact with host exocytosis, the fusion of intracellular vesicles with the plasma membrane. The bacterial pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus subvert recycling endosomal pathways of exocytosis in order to induce their entry into human cells.

Volumetric Measurement of Subretinal Blebs Using Microscope-Integrated Optical Coherence Tomography.

Purpose: We advance studies of subretinal treatments by developing a microscope-integrated optical coherence tomography (MIOCT) image-based method for measuring the volume of therapeutics delivered into the subretinal space.

Methods: A MIOCT image-based volume measurement method was developed and assessed for accuracy and reproducibility by imaging an object of known size in model eyes. This method then was applied to subretinal blebs created by injection of diluted triamcinolone.

Direct Detection of Unamplified Pathogen RNA in Blood Lysate using an Integrated Lab-in-a-Stick Device and Ultrabright SERS Nanorattles.

Direct detection of genetic biomarkers in body fluid lysate without target amplification will revolutionize nucleic acid-based diagnostics. However, the low concentration of target sequences makes this goal challenging. We report a method for direct detection of pathogen RNA in blood lysate using a bioassay using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based detection integrated in a "lab-in-a-stick" portable device.

A role for host cell exocytosis in InlB-mediated internalisation of Listeria monocytogenes.

The bacterial surface protein InlB mediates internalisation of Listeria monocytogenes into human cells through interaction with the host receptor tyrosine kinase, Met. InlB-mediated entry requires localised polymerisation of the host actin cytoskeleton. Apart from actin polymerisation, roles for other host processes in Listeria entry are unknown.

Sensitive DNA detection and SNP discrimination using ultrabright SERS nanorattles and magnetic beads for malaria diagnostics.

One of the major obstacles to implement nucleic acid-based molecular diagnostics at the point-of-care (POC) and in resource-limited settings is the lack of sensitive and practical DNA detection methods that can be seamlessly integrated into portable platforms. Herein we present a sensitive yet simple DNA detection method using a surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanoplatform: the ultrabright SERS nanorattle. The method, referred to as the nanorattle-based method, involves sandwich hybridization of magnetic beads that are loaded with capture probes, target sequences, and ultrabright SERS nanorattles that are loaded with reporter probes.

Plasmonic SERS biosensing nanochips for DNA detection.

The development of rapid, cost-effective DNA detection methods for molecular diagnostics at the point-of-care (POC) has been receiving increasing interest. This article reviews several DNA detection techniques based on plasmonic-active nanochip platforms developed in our laboratory over the last 5 years, including the molecular sentinel-on-chip (MSC), the multiplex MSC, and the inverse molecular sentinel-on-chip (iMS-on-Chip). DNA probes were used as the recognition elements, and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) was used as the signal detection method.

SERS nanosensors and nanoreporters: golden opportunities in biomedical applications.

This article provides an overview of recent developments and applications of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) nanosensors and nanoreporters in our laboratory for use in biochemical monitoring, medical diagnostics, and therapy. The design and fabrication of different types of plasmonics-active nanostructures are discussed. The SERS nanosensors can be used in various applications including pH sensing, protein detection, and gene diagnostics.

DNA bioassay-on-chip using SERS detection for dengue diagnosis.

A novel DNA bioassay-on-chip using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) on a bimetallic nanowave chip is presented. In this bioassay, SERS signals were measured after a single reaction on the chip's surface without any washing step, making it simple-to-use and reducing the reagent cost. Using the technique, specific oligonucleotide sequences of the dengue virus 4 were detected.

Multiplex detection of disease biomarkers using SERS molecular sentinel-on-chip.

Developing techniques for multiplex detection of disease biomarkers is important for clinical diagnosis. In this work, we have demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of multiplex detection of genetic disease biomarkers using the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based molecular sentinel-on-chip (MSC) diagnostic technology. The molecular sentinel (MS) sensing mechanism is based upon the decrease of SERS intensity when Raman labels tagged at 3'-ends of MS nanoprobes are physically displaced from the nanowave chip's surface upon DNA hybridization.