A non-invasive ultrasensitive diagnostic approach for COVID-19 infection using salivary label-free SERS fingerprinting and artificial intelligence.

Clinical diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 infection usually comprises the sampling of throat or nasopharyngeal swabs that are invasive and create patient discomfort. Hence, saliva is attempted as a sample of choice for the management of COVID-19 outbreaks that cripples the global healthcare system. Although limited by the risk of eliciting false-negative and positive results, tedious test procedures, requirement of specialized laboratories, and expensive reagents, nucleic acid-based tests remain the gold standard for COVID-19 diagnostics.

Fabrication, Characterization, and Modeling of an Aluminum Oxide-Gate Ion-Sensitive Field-Effect Transistor-Based pH Sensor.

The ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) is a popular technology utilized for pH sensing applications. In this work, we have presented the fabrication, characterization, and electrochemical modeling of an aluminum oxide (AlO)-gate ISFET-based pH sensor. The sensor is fabricated using well-established metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) unit processes with five steps of photolithography, and the sensing film is patterned using the lift-off process.

Prevalence of intestinal parasitosis and associated risk factors among school children of Saptari district, Nepal: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Intestinal parasitosis, caused by both helminths and protozoans, are among the most prevalent infections, especially in developing countries. Enteric parasites continue to be a major cause of parasitic diseases which is the most common among street and school going children with poor sanitation. This cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the prevalence and potential risk factors of intestinal parasitosis among school going children of two schools of Saptari district of southern Nepal.

Diarrheal disease outbreak in Gaidatar village of Rautahat District, Nepal.

Objective: Diarrheal diseases, including cholera, remain a major public health concern in developing countries like Nepal. This study investigated a diarrheal outbreak that affected over 1500 people in Gaidatar village of Rautahat district in central Nepal and sought to identify the source and causation of the disease. Stool samples were collected from individuals with acute diarrheal illness (n = 16) and healthy non-diarrheal children (n = 39), along with samples from local drinking water sources (n = 8) and their sewage system (n = 10).