METHODS: RNA was extracted from nasopharyngeal swab samples by a simple RNA extraction method.
RESULTS: Testing of 77 samples demonstrated 91.2% sensitivity (95% confidence interval [CI]: 78-98.2%) and 100% specificity (95% confidence interval: 92-100%) using UDG RT-LAMP.
CONCLUSION: This colorimetric UDG RT-LAMP is a simple-to-use, fast, and easy-to-interpret method, which could serve as an alternative for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially in remote hospitals and laboratories with under-equipped medical facilities.
METHODS: The rat embryo fibroblast (REF) cells were transfected with multi siRNA before infecting with CMV strain ALL-03. Viral growth inhibition was measured by tissue culture infectious dose (TCID50), cytopathic effect (CPE) and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) while IE2 and DNA polymerase gene knockdown was determined by real-time PCR. Ganciclovir was deployed as a control to benchmark the efficacy of antiviral activities of respective individual siRNAs.
RESULTS: There was no significant cytotoxicity encountered for all the combinations of siRNAs on REF cells analyzed by MTT colorimetric assay (P > 0.05). Cytopathic effects (CPE) in cells infected by RCMV ALL-03 had developed significantly less and at much slower rate compared to control group. The expression of targeted genes was downregulated successfully resulted in significant reduction (P
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Photos of urine samples were taken in a customized photo booth, then processed using Adobe Photoshop to index urine colour into the red, green, and blue (RGB) colour space and assigned a unique RGB value. The RGB values were then correlated with patients' clinical and laboratory hydration indices using Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression. There were strong correlations between urine osmolality and the RGB of urine colour, with r = -0.701 (red), r = -0.741 (green), and r = -0.761 (blue) (all p-value <0.05). There were strong correlations between urine specific gravity and the RGB of urine colour, with r = -0.759 (red), r = -0.785 (green), and r = -0.820 (blue) (all p-value <0.05). The blue component had the highest correlations with urine specific gravity and urine osmolality. There were moderate correlations between RGB components and serum urea, at r = -0.338 (red), -0.329 (green), -0.360 (blue). In terms of urine biochemical parameters linked to dehydration, multiple linear regression studies showed that the green colourimetry code was predictive of urine osmolality (β coefficient -0.082, p-value <0.001) while the blue colourimetry code was predictive of urine specific gravity (β coefficient -2,946.255, p-value 0.007).
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Urine colourimetry using mobile phones was highly correlated with the hydration status of dengue patients, making it a potentially useful hydration status tool.