A Single-step Multiplex Quantitative Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction Assay for Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes

Exploring Data Integrity of Dual-Channel Supply Chain Using Blockchain Technology

The study intends to solve the problems of complex product circulation caused by information asymmetry and the untimely communication of production and sales information in the process of product sales to reduce the cost in the process of product circulation. Based on blockchain technology, the data integrity of the dual-channel supply chain is studied. First, the data of the supply chain conduct coordinated management to achieve the integrity of the supply chain data. Then, under the background that both retailers and suppliers are risk-neutral individuals, the benchmark model of the dual-channel supply chain is constructed, and the online and offline sales prices of products under different decision-making modes are analyzed. Finally, taking fresh agricultural products as an example, the sales strategies of the online and offline sales channels of fresh agricultural products are studied, and a dual-channel supply chain model is constructed. The profit of each member in the supply chain system under this model is obtained by the inverse method. The simulation results demonstrate that the retailer's revenue and the total revenue of the system increase obviously with the growth of the price discount coefficient after the price discount strategy is applied. When the compensation cost is between 1,000 and 3,000, the profit of retailers in the supply chain system is improved by using the price coordination mechanism, while the profit of suppliers decreases to some extent. When the value of compensation cost is 7,000–9,000, the application of the price coordination mechanism increases the profit of suppliers in the supply chain system, while the profit of retailers declines to a certain extent. The research content reported here effectively alleviates the profit conflict and the double marginal effect between the two channels and enriches the theoretical system knowledge of the coordination of the two channels' supply chain of agricultural products.

Nanotechnology: A reality for diagnosis of HCV infectious disease

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the primary etiologic agent of liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV elevated infection rates are mostly due to the lack of an accurate and accessible screening and diagnosis, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Conventional HCV diagnostic algorithm consists of a serological test followed by a nucleic acid test. This sequence of tests is time consuming and not affordable for low-resource settings. Nanotechnology have introduced new promising tests for the diagnose of infectious diseases. Based on the employment of nanoparticles and other nanomaterials which lead to highly sensitive and specific nanoscale tests, most of them target pathogen genome. Implementation of nanoscale tests, which are affordable, portable and easy to use by non-specialized personal, would improve HCV diagnosis algorithm. In this review, we have summed up the current emerging nanotechnology tools, which will improve actual screening and treatment programs, and help to reach HCV elimination proposal.