Search Results (133)

Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) precipitation and Nanotrap^® Microbiome Particles (NMP) are widely used methods for concentrating viruses in wastewater due to their simplicity, cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and rapid turnaround time. This study compared the performance of these methods in detecting noroviruses (GI and GII) and SARS-CoV-2 collected from two wastewater treatment facilities using quantitative PCR. Norovirus was detected in all samples (23/23) using both protocols, but PEG yielded higher mean concentrations for GI and GII than NMP, indicating improved quantitative recovery for non-enveloped viruses. For SARS-CoV-2, NMP showed significantly higher positive ratios for the N2 gene (Fisher’s Exact Test, p < 0.01), but no significant difference was observed for the N1 gene (p > 0.05), indicating comparable performance between the methods for this target. These findings highlight PEG’s effectiveness for non-enveloped viruses and NMP’s suitability for enveloped viruses, emphasizing the importance of selecting virus concentration methods based on viral structure. This study provides a framework for optimizing wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) protocols and enhancing public health surveillance for diverse viral targets. Future research should focus on refining these methodologies and exploring their applicability to other viral pathogens to enhance public health surveillance frameworks. Full article

Delays during turnaround operations are a significant source of operational inefficiency for airlines. They reduce airline profit margins by resulting in rescheduled flights and missed connections for passengers. This research paper presents the findings of an approach developed within the INTACT research project (subsequently called “the INTACT system”). The INTACT system aims to achieve reduced delays during turnaround operations and therefore increase their operational efficiency by introducing new technologies. A simulation study, including 350 simulated days, was conducted to assess the impact of three of INTACT’s abilities: (1) the localization of wheelchairs for passengers, (2) the assessment of what trolleys are onboard and how many trolley items are needed, and (3) visual observations of cabin failures and communication back to the destination airport. Results show that the implementation of these technologies leads to a statistically significant average delay reduction of 3 min per turnaround. Under the modeled schedule constraints in the discrete-event simulation, this reduction shifts the distribution of feasible daily flight counts, resulting in an average increase of 0.11 flights/day (38 additional completed flights over 350 simulated days) relative to the full-delay scenario. In addition, the cost–benefit analysis shows that the INTACT system saves an average of $966.95 in turnaround costs and gains $2714.29 in additional revenue per day and per aircraft. With estimated initial investment costs of around 2 million dollars, the payback period is only 1.5 years. During this study, gross additional revenue was reported as an upper-bound estimate; net operational benefit depends on airline-specific variable operating costs. The INTACT system can help to improve turnaround operation issues while providing positive economic performance for stakeholders in the industry. Full article

Background/Objectives: Autoverification systems integrated with fully automated analyzers and expert middleware can reduce manual review workload and improve turnaround time (TAT). This study aimed to develop an autoverification system for thyroid function profiles and to evaluate its performance in clinical practice. Methods: A total of 1,219,141 routine thyroid function test results collected from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020 were used to design the autoverification system. The system incorporated quality control checks, instrument error flags, limit range rules, delta check rules, and logical rules. Validation was performed using an independent dataset comprising 81,713 test results. Results: Twelve instrument error flags, a two-step delta check algorithm, one set of limit range rules, and ten logical rules were established. The overall autoverification pass rate was 75.2%. After system optimization, the overall pass rate increased to 77.8%, and the median laboratory TAT decreased from 122.1 min to 88.6 min. Conclusions: The autoverification system for thyroid function profiles significantly improved laboratory efficiency and reduced TAT. While RCV-based delta checks require prior results and are therefore not applicable to new patients, other autoverification rules remain active, and only results that cannot be autoverified are routed to manual review, ensuring safe and complete result verification. This system provides a practical framework for implementing autoverification in routine clinical chemistry testing. Full article

Respiratory infections represent one of the leading causes of pediatric consultations and hospitalizations in Chile, where rapid etiological identification is essential for clinical decision-making. We evaluated the impact of implementing the BIOFIRE^® SPOTFIRE^® Respiratory (R) Panel in the pediatric Emergency Department of a public referral hospital in Santiago, using a pre–post cross-sectional design comparing two winter periods (July 2023 vs. July 2024). Clinical records, laboratory data, and operational indicators were analyzed to assess changes in diagnostic yield, turnaround time, hospitalizations, discharges, supplementary test requests, and antimicrobial use. A total of 470 patients were included (224 in 2023; 246 in 2024). The etiological detection rate increased from 58.0% to 87.8% after the implementation of Spotfire^® (p < 0.0001), with marked increases in the identification of adenovirus, RSV, rhinovirus/enterovirus, and seasonal coronaviruses. Rapid molecular testing was associated with a significant rise in emergency department discharges (23.7% vs. 57.3%; p < 0.0001) and a reduction in hospitalizations (76.3% vs. 42.7%; p < 0.0001) and readmissions (9.2% vs. 0.5%; p < 0.0001). Requests for complete blood counts, chest X-rays, and antimicrobial prescriptions at discharge also decreased significantly. These effects persisted in key subgroups, including infants and children with comorbidities. In this high-demand winter setting, the BIOFIRE^® SPOTFIRE^® R Panel improved diagnostic performance and supported more efficient and targeted clinical management. Full article

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄, LFP) batteries dominate grid-scale energy storage, yet their cycle life is capped by its capacity fade issues. Conventional failure workflows suffer from redundant tests, high cost, and long turnaround time because the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Herein, multi-scale characterization coupled with electrochemical tests have been quantitatively established to reveal four synergistic fade modes of LFP: active-Li loss, FePO₄ secondary-phase formation, SEI rupture, and particle fracture. A two-tier “screen–validate” protocol is proposed to accurately and efficiently disclose its mechanism. In the screening tier, capacity, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, low-magnification scanning electron microscopy, and snapshot X-ray diffraction (XRD) rapidly flag the most probable failure cause. The validation tier then deploys mechanism-matched in situ/ex situ tools (operando XRD, TEM, XPS, ToF-SIMS, etc.) to build a comprehensive evidence chain of dynamic structural evolution, materials loss tracking, and quantitative proof. The streamlined workflow preserves scientific rigor and reproducibility while cutting analysis time and cost, offering a closed-loop route for fast failure diagnosis and targeted optimization of next-generation LFP batteries. Full article

Background/Objectives: Gastroenteritis remains a major global health concern, particularly in resource-limited regions, where rapid and accurate diagnosis is crucial for effective patient management. Syndromic multiplex PCR panels, such as the FilmArray gastrointestinal (FAGI) panel, offer the potential to significantly improve diagnostic yield and turnaround time, enabling more targeted treatments and reducing unnecessary antibiotic use. However, real-world data on their performance in low-resource settings remains scarce. This study evaluates the performance, clinical impact, and cost-effectiveness of the FAGI panel compared to standard of care (SOC) diagnostic methods in gastroenteritis cases at São José Hospital for Infectious Diseases in Fortaleza, Brazil, an HIV Reference Center, in a resource-limited region of a middle-income country. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted among patients tested with FAGI (n = 161) and a retrospective control group tested only with SOC methods (n = 166). Results: The FAGI panel was associated with a significant reduction in the turnaround time, antimicrobial use, and total treatment costs while increasing the pathogen detection rate. Specifically, the median diagnostic time was reduced by 18%, with an increase in pathogen detection compared to SOC methods (64% positivity compared to 32%). Moreover, the FAGI group experienced a 30% reduction in antibiotic use, with a corresponding 83% reduction in antimicrobial costs. Conclusions: These results suggest that the FilmArray panel may offer substantial benefits in terms of efficiency and cost savings, highlighting its potential for broader implementation in clinical practice, especially in resource-limited settings, to improve patient outcomes in infectious disease management. Full article

Aircraft turnaround efficiency is a key determinant of the sustainability of air transport systems. Each stage of ground handling—passenger disembarkation, baggage handling, refuelling, and ancillary services—contributes to the total turnaround time, with direct implications for airport capacity, operating costs, and environmental performance. Using empirical records from ground operations, the study characterizes the duration and variability of individual activities and identifies the main process bottlenecks. Building on this evidence, a comparative PERT-COST protocol with explicit threshold rules (quantized billing steps for selected resources) is developed and applied across predefined scenarios (remote versus gate, day versus night, low versus high fuel uplift, with versus without a second baggage team) under both linear and threshold cost models. The protocol aligns with ITS-enabled decision support by mapping stochastic activity times to cost-of-crashing functions and by providing harmonized performance metrics: final time T, total cost ∑ΔC, and efficiency η (EUR/min). The results show that moderate time reductions are attainable at reasonable cost, whereas aggressive targets that lie below the structural minimum are infeasible under current constraints; gate stands reduce the attainable minimum time but increase the marginal price near the minimum, and night operations raise costs without improving that minimum. These findings delineate the most productive intervention range and inform operational choices consistent with sustainability objectives. Full article

Background: Patient-derived advanced prostate cancer organoids have been developed to mimic tumor heterogeneity and beneficially predict optimized drugs for specific patients. The organoids are promising functional drug screening models which can capture patient outcomes. However, organoid development from transurethral resection of the prostate (TUR-P) has been hampered by a low success rate, and the cost of culture should be reduced for realistically clinical settings. In our study, we aimed to improve the success rate and reduce the cost of establishing advanced prostate cancer organoids from TUR-P specimens. Methods: We optimized and improved both the organoid culture protocol and the fetal bovine serum (FBS) based-organoid culture medium, which is suitable for performing drug testing in a short turnaround time. To confirm that the generated organoids could recapitulate the tumor heterogeneity of original tissues, the organoids were validated with histological, immunohistochemical, and genomic analyses. Results: Following the optimized protocol, we successfully generated organoids in approximately 18 out of 29 cases (or 62.07%), which exhibited effective growth and survival. In addition, we found that the established organoids efficiently identified and captured tumor characteristics present in their matched original tissues, as indicated by histological, immunohistochemical, and comprehensive genomic analysis. As a proof of concept for personalized medicine, the generated organoids were treated with anti-cancer drugs, including docetaxel and enzalutamide in parallel with the clinical treatments. Interestingly, the in vitro drug screening results were positively correlated with the patient outcomes at the clinical level. Conclusions: Taken together, the established APC organoids were able to precisely predict patients’ outcomes for treatment decision-making within a month in a cost-effective manner. Full article

Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) is a dicotyledonous plant from the Rosaceae family that originated in China. Functional genomic studies in Japanese apricot are essential to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying key agronomic traits and to accelerate crop improvement. However, the lack of an efficient genetic transformation system has hindered gene function analysis and impeded molecular breeding efforts. Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation has emerged as a robust tool for functional gene validation and studying root-specific processes across diverse plant species, due to its simple protocol and rapid turnaround time. Notably, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation remains notoriously recalcitrant in Rosaceae species, particularly in Japanese apricot. Through screening of ten Japanese apricot varieties, we identified ‘Muguamei’ (MGM) as the optimal cultivar for tissue culture. Using its genotype, we established an Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation system for Japanese apricot via an in vitro approach. The binary vector incorporated the RUBY reporter for visual selection and eYGFPuv for fluorescent validation of transformation events. Furthermore, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of PmPDS in ‘Muguamei’ calli generated albino phenotypes, confirming successful genome editing. Through optimization of antibiotics, the study achieved an 80% explant survival rate using Woody Plant Medium (WPM) supplemented with 6-BA (0.5 mg/L) and TDZ (0.05 mg/L). For in vitro micropropagation, we found that ‘Muguamei’ exhibited optimal shoot growth in the presence of 6-BA (0.06 mg/L) and TDZ (0.1 mg/L), and up to 8 bud proliferation lines could be reached under 4.0 mg/L 6-BA. During the rooting of micro shoots, ½MS medium performed better and reached the optimum root length (35.70 ± 4.56 mm) and number (6.00 ± 1.00) under IAA (0.5 mg/L) and IBA (0.4 mg/L). Leaf explants were cultured on WPM supplemented with TDZ (4.0 mg/L) and NAA (0.2 mg/L). 50 mg/L kanamycin concentrations were the suitable screening concentration. Full article

This study proposes a fast material parameter evaluation method for multilayer thin-film structures based on machine learning technology to solve the problems of long time and low efficiency in the traditional material parameter inversion process. Nanoindentation experiments are first conducted to establish an experimental basis across film stacks. A two-dimensional elasto-plastic model of the indentation process is then built to generate a large set of load–depth curves, which serve as training data for a machine learning model. Trained on simulated curves and validated against measurements, the model enables fast inverse identification of layer-wise plastic parameters and interfacial cohesive properties. The experimental results show that the method has high accuracy and efficiency in the inversion of interlayer cohesion parameters, and the correlation coefficient R² is 0.99 or more. Compared with traditional methods, the pipeline supports batch analysis of multiple datasets and delivers parameter estimates within 1 h, substantially shortening turnaround time while improving result reliability. This method can not only effectively solve the challenges faced by traditional material evaluation, but also provide a new and effective tool for the performance evaluation and optimization design of multilayer thin-film materials. It has broad application prospects and potential value. Full article

Timely reporting of microbiological results is critical for clinical decision-making, particularly in pediatric hospitals where delays can significantly impact outcomes. Despite advances in laboratory automation, workflow inefficiencies and resistance to change remain barriers to improvement in Latin America. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of implementing a Kaizen-based change management strategy on reducing turnaround time (TAT) in the microbiology laboratory of Hospital Roberto del Río, Santiago, Chile. We conducted a prospective, pre–post intervention study focusing on blood culture processing. The baseline period (July 2022) included 961 cultures processed with the BacT/ALERT^® 3D system. A Kaizen/LEAN intervention was designed, comprising workflow redesign, staff training, and installation of the BACT/ALERT^® Virtuo^® (bioMerieux, Marcy l’Etoile, France) continuous-loading blood culture system. The intervention engaged all technical and professional staff in a five-day Kaizen immersion, followed by eight months of monitoring. Outcomes were assessed by comparing TAT for positive blood cultures before and after implementation (June 2023, 496 samples). Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann–Whitney U test, with p < 0.05 considered significant. The intervention achieved a median reduction in TAT from 68.22 h (IQR 56.14–88.59) pre-intervention to 51.52 h (IQR 41.17–66.57) post-intervention, corresponding to a 24.48% improvement (p < 0.001), surpassing the 20% target. Time to preliminary Gram reporting also decreased, and workflow standardization enhanced staff productivity and culture validation frequency. Implementation of Kaizen principles in a pediatric microbiology laboratory significantly reduced blood culture TAT and improved workflow efficiency. Beyond technological upgrades, active staff engagement and structured change management were key to success. These findings support the applicability of Kaizen-based interventions to optimize laboratory performance in resource-constrained public healthcare systems. Full article

This work addresses the challenges of airline planning, which requires the integration of flight scheduling, aircraft availability, and maintenance to ensure both airworthiness and profitability. Current solutions, often developed by human experts, are susceptible to bias and may yield suboptimal results due to the inherent complexity of the problem. Furthermore, existing state-of-the-art approaches often inadequately address critical factors, such as maintenance, variable flight numbers, discrete time slots, and potential flight repetition. This paper presents a novel approach to aircraft routing optimization using a model that incorporates critical constraints, including path connectivity, flight duration, maintenance requirements, turnaround times, and closed routes. The proposed solution employs a simulated annealing algorithm enhanced with specialized perturbation operators and constraint-handling techniques. The main contributions are twofold: the development of an optimization model tailored to small airlines and the design of operators capable of efficiently solving large-scale, realistic scenarios. The method is validated using established benchmarks from the literature and a real case study from a Mexican commercial airline, demonstrating its ability to generate feasible and competitive routing configurations. Full article

As the potential of e-aircraft in short-range routes becomes more prominent, the question of how to rationally plan airport electric infrastructure and efficiently produce it has become a key issue in the aviation industry’s efforts to move towards electrification. In this paper, we propose and construct a three-layer optimization model for determining the size of airport electric infrastructure, which is solved collaboratively at the three levels of strategic, tactical, and operational layers, in order to construct an optimization algorithm to minimize the construction and operation costs of electric infrastructure, and at the same time to ensure that flights are not delayed by the influence of electric power supply. Specifically, Stage-1 considers infrastructure sizes; Stage-2 assigns a binary charge–swap decision per turnaround under no-delay policy; Stage-3 schedules power under time-of-use tariffs and outputs a feasible day plan and daily cost. In order to verify the effectiveness of this paper’s algorithm, this paper conducts case studies and algorithm validation on actual flight data. The results show that the proposed model can significantly reduce the overall airport operating costs while ensuring normal flight operations. Full article

Background: In the dynamic world of commercial aviation, the efficient management of ground handling (GH) operations in aircraft turnarounds is an increasingly complex challenge, often perceived as operational chaos. Methods: This paper introduces the “Critical Minute Theorem” (CMT), a novel framework that integrates mathematical architecture principles into the optimization of GH processes. CMT identifies singular temporal thresholds, $t_k^{\mathrm{*}}$ at which small local disturbances generate nonlinear, system-wide disruptions. Results: By formulating the turnaround as a set of algebraic dependencies and nonlinear differential relations, the case studies demonstrate that delays are not random but structurally determined. The practical contribution of this study lies in showing that early recognition and intervention at these critical minutes significantly reduces propagated delays. Three case analyses are presented: (i) a fueling delay initially causing 9 min of disruption, reduced to 3.7 min after applying CMT-based reordering; (ii) baggage mismatch scenarios where CMT-guided list restructuring eliminates systemic deadlock; and (iii) PRM assistance delays mitigated by up to 12–15 min through anticipatory task reorganization. Conclusions: These results highlight that CMT enables predictive, non-technological control in turnaround operations, repositioning the human analyst as an architect of time capable of restoring structure where the system tends to collapse. Full article

After an aero-engine shuts down, the high temperature within the core flow path prevents conventional borescope probes from performing immediate internal inspections due to their limited thermal resistance, thereby constraining rapid turnaround capabilities for aircraft. To address this challenge, this study proposes an active cooling strategy using coolant flow to keep the probe within a safe temperature range. Three cooling structures incorporating pressure-drop modules—annular, annular-slit, and round-hole configurations—were designed and numerically investigated to assess the effects of geometric parameters and coolant properties (temperature, pressure, nitrogen mixing ratio) on cooling performance. The results demonstrate that the round-hole structure with a 1.0 mm diameter achieves optimal cooling, maintaining an average probe mirror temperature of 286.2 K under coolant conditions of 285 K and 0.5 MPa. Cooling efficiency exhibits a strong linear negative correlation with coolant temperature, while its relationship with pressure is highly structure-dependent. Nitrogen doping significantly improves the heat transfer capacity of the coolant. The implemented three-stage pressure-drop module performs consistently, with the pressure loss per stage determined solely by the inlet pressure. This study provides valuable insights and a theoretical foundation for the design of high-temperature-resistant borescope equipment capable of operating in the harsh environments of aero-engines. Full article