The present disclosure provides methods to quantify tau phosphorylation at specific amino acid residues, using blood samples, to predict time to onset of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease, stage Alzheimer's disease, guide treatment decisions, select subjects for clinical trials, and evaluate the clinical efficacy of certain therapeutic interventions.

A sample purification apparatus includes a container for separating, with a heavy solution, a mixed sample based on a specific gravity difference and a collector that collects a component in the mixed sample lighter in specific gravity than the heavy solution by receiving a supernatant flowed out from the container. The container includes a flow-out port provided in an uppermost portion of the container and a flow-out path that guides the supernatant flowed out through the flow-out port to the collector. the container has a horizontal cross-sectional area which gradually decreases upward starting from a prescribed height of the container to a height where the flow-out port is located.

A sample purification apparatus includes a container for separating, with a heavy solution, a mixed sample based on a specific gravity difference and a collector that collects a component in the mixed sample lighter in specific gravity than the heavy solution by receiving a supernatant flowed out from the container. The container includes a flow-out port provided in an uppermost portion of the container and a flow-out path that guides the supernatant flowed out through the flow-out port to the collector. the container has a horizontal cross-sectional area which gradually decreases upward starting from a prescribed height of the container to a height where the flow-out port is located.

A system or method for detecting an immune system activation state in a patient can include a sample preparation system configured to isolate white blood cells from a sample of the patient, a cytometry module configured to determine biophysical properties of the white blood cells of the sample, and an analysis module configured to analyze the biophysical properties.

A system or method for detecting an immune system activation state in a patient can include a sample preparation system configured to isolate white blood cells from a sample of the patient, a cytometry module configured to determine biophysical properties of the white blood cells of the sample, and an analysis module configured to analyze the biophysical properties.

A method and/or system can include processing a blood sample of a patient by degrading red blood cells of the blood sample using a lysing solution, quenching the degradation of the red blood cells after a threshold lysing time, centrifuging and aspirating the quenched solution to remove degraded red blood cell debris and concentrate white blood cells of the blood sample, and suspending the concentrated white blood cells in a buffer solution; within a threshold transfer time, deforming white blood cells, of the suspended white blood cells, within a microfluidic chip; and determining a probability that the patient is in an immune activation state based on images of the white blood cells acquired while deforming the white blood cells.

A method and/or system can include processing a blood sample of a patient by degrading red blood cells of the blood sample using a lysing solution, quenching the degradation of the red blood cells after a threshold lysing time, centrifuging and aspirating the quenched solution to remove degraded red blood cell debris and concentrate white blood cells of the blood sample, and suspending the concentrated white blood cells in a buffer solution; within a threshold transfer time, deforming white blood cells, of the suspended white blood cells, within a microfluidic chip; and determining a probability that the patient is in an immune activation state based on images of the white blood cells acquired while deforming the white blood cells.

A sample feed device is provided, including: a body; a sample tray provided on the body; a moving part provided on the body and capable of reciprocating on the body, and the moving part provided with a transfer chamber, the transfer chamber capable of receiving a sample from the sample tray and transferring the sample to an analyzer with the movement of the moving part; a processing system provided on the body, and capable of performing helium gas purging and vacuum processing to the sample. The sample feed device may feed the sample automatically through relay transfer of the sample by the sample tray and the moving part. The processing system may perform the helium gas purging and vacuuming to the sample, which strips adsorbate on the surface of the sample by the helium gas purging, and removes the stripped adsorbate on the surface of the sample by vacuuming.

The present disclosure provides methods of preparing a biological specimen for imaging analysis, comprising fixing and clearing the biological specimen and subsequently analyzing the cleared biological specimen using microscopy. Also included are methods of quantifying cells, for example, active populations of cells in response to a stimulant. The present disclosure also provides devices for practicing the described methods. A flow-assisted clearing device provides rapid clearing of hydrogel-embedded biological specimens without the need of specialized equipment such as electrophoresis or perfusion devices.

Novel Coronavirus/MERS-CoV/Influenza Virus A/B Multiple Rapid Detection Kit is disclosed. The kit has the advantages of high sensitivity, good specificity, high speed (3-15 minutes), simplicity and low cost.