Early recognition of altered lactate levels is considered a useful prognostic indicator in dis- ease detection for both human beings and animals. It is reasonable therefore to hypothesize that a portable, point of care (POC) spectrophotometric device for analysis of lactate levels, may have an application for field veterinarians across a range of conditions and diagnostic procedures. In this study, a total of 72 cattle in the transition period underwent POC spectrophotometric lactate measurement with a portable device (The Vet Photometer) in the field, with a small portion of blood used for comparative ELISA evaluation. Lactate measurements were compared using a of Passing-Bablok regression analysis and Bland-Altman plots. The Vet Photometer lactate mea- surement results were in agreement with those generated by the ELISA method. Values for the agreement were derived, in a 95% CI between -1.3 and 0.99, and a positive correlation (r=0.71) between the two measurements. The equation y= 0.68x + 0.60 was achieved using a Pass- ing-Bablok regression analysis. There were no statistical differences in mean values between the measurement methods. In conclusion, a novel veterinary POC spectrophotometric device “Vet Photometer” is an accurate device for evaluation of lactate levels in healthy transition cows.

Contamination by pesticides is known to be one of the major issues that are enormously degrading the quality of food and fodder crops together with increased agricultural, environmental and aquatic pollution. Many analytical and laboratory methods are available for detection of these pesticides in products in order to maintain food security but these methods are not readily accessible to most people including farmers for on-site and onfield detection in the crops. The development of more convenient, fast, and cost-effective methods that can be easily accessed by laymen based on simple paper strips or mobile analyzers etc. are need of the time. This review includes a brief discussion about novel devices which have been introduced in the field for pesticide detection viz. easy to use colorimetric and non-colorimetric detection methods based on various electrochemical and optical sensing strategies. These techniques exhibited promising results in field of on-site pesticide detection owing to their easy production, high sensitivity and readily accessible results obtained with these portable devices. This review further describes emerging prospects, deficits and challenges associated with the application of the aforementioned sensing devices.

The performance evaluation of new and old subgrades is critical for the quality and safety of reconstruction and extension projects. It is necessary to achieve rapid and easy performance testing. In this study, a Portable FallingWeight Deflectometer (PFWD) is chosen to rapid evaluate the performance of subgrade. First, a testing area, the reconstruction and expansion project of the Hefei to Dagudian section of the Shanghai-Shaanxi Expressway, is selected. Then, the PFWD modulus E_p of resilient tested by PFWD and the corresponding water content w and compacting degree K tested by the cutting ring method for old subgrade are obtained. And the correlation relationship between E_p and w and K is established. The performance of old subgrade can be rapid obtained by PFWD. Meanwhile, for the new subgrade, the correlation relationship between E_p and bending value L, w and K is established, and the performance can also be rapid tested by PFWD. Finally, a rapid evaluation method for the reconstruction and expansion of subgrade performance was proposed, which aims to provide technical support for ensuring construction quality and safety and provides a technical reference and a theoretical basis for the prediction of similar subgrade performance.

Coronaviruses present a considerable concern for humans and animals. The current world- wide pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 virus showed many gaps in understanding of coronaviruses spread and transmission. Because of lack of effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 the only preventive measures are represented by wearing protective masks and gloves thus limiting potential risk of contact with the airborne virus. Inversely, the limited time of protective function of the masks presents another drawback of their use. Therefore, the application of disinfection agent dispersed on the surface of protective masks may enhance their effectivity and safety of their application. The aim of the study was to examine the virucidal efficacy of low-concentra- ted sodium hypochlorite dispersed using ultrasonic humidifier on the surface of surgery masks. The study was conducted using SARS-CoV-2 surrogate virus, namely porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) representing a model with similar biophysical properties and genomic structure to human coronaviruses. Five different concentrations of the disinfectant with different content of sodium hypochlorite were selected for the study. A final concentration of 0.228 g/L sodium hypochlorite effectively inactivated the PED virus and may support the biosafety of masks usage.