A recent outbreak of monkeypox virus (mpox) has prompted researchers to explore diagnostics as a means of impeding transmission and further spread. Rapid, sensitive, and specific methods are crucial for accurately diagnosing mpox infections. Here, we developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the specific detection of mpox. The primer sets were designed to target regions in and around the N4R gene, and results showed a detection limit of 2 × 100 DNA copies, which is comparable to the gold-standard qPCR method currently used to detect mpox. Particularly, the assay provides results visible to the naked eye within 30 min. This test specifically detects mpox DNA with no cross-reactivity to related DNA viruses including Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV), Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Vaccinia virus (VACV), Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1), Herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), Human papillomavirus-16 (HPV-16) and Human papillomavirus-18 (HPV-18). Furthermore, the LAMP assay has been evaluated using clinical samples from laboratory-confirmed mpox patients and found to be consistent with the qPCR results. Our results show that this single-tube LAMP method can contribute to diagnosis of suspected mpox infections in the field and clinic, especially in regions with limited laboratory resources.
Abstract:The widespread distribution and strong seasonal pattern of highly concentrated summertime formaldehyde (HCHO) were observed using data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard Aura satellite from 2005 to 2015 in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, China. The large-scale HCHO concentrations and its close connection with the surface O 3 pollution made the study of summertime HCHO patterns and its major contributors necessary. Accordingly, time series decomposition, Moran's I and Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) were adopted to investigate the spatiotemporal variations of HCHO. We found that the HCHO columns regionally increased from 2005 to 2010 and decreased in the north (e.g., Chengde) from 2010 to 2015. Additionally, HCHO Vertical Column Densities (VCDs) exhibited higher values in urban areas. Despite the strong possibilities of major biogenic contributions, anthropogenic sources represented larger spatial PCCs and larger total emission rates. Industrial sources exhibited a large increasing emission amount, and the most similar distribution to HCHO was found in residential sources. By comparison, power-based emissions accounted for a relatively small fraction, and transportation emissions declined rapidly. In conclusion, anthropogenic VOCs might contribute to the summertime HCHO concentrations as well as isoprene, and controls on VOCs and HCHO would be greatly assisted by the satellite-based observations.
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