Prospection of immunological biomarkers for characterization and monitoring of asymptomatic Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum infection

Parasitology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 147 (10) ◽  
pp. 1124-1132
Author(s):  
Gisele Macêdo Rodrigues da Cunha ◽  
Mariângela Carneiro ◽  
Marcelo Antônio Pascoal-Xavier ◽  
Iara Caixeta Marques da Rocha ◽  
Fernanda do Carmo Magalhães ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Leishmania Infantum ◽  
Regression Tree ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Asymptomatic Infection ◽  
Classification And Regression Tree ◽  
Soluble Antigen ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Serological Tests ◽  
Asymptomatic Group ◽  
Cross Sectional

AbstractIn areas endemic for Leishmania infantum, an asymptomatic infection may be an indicator of the extent of transmission. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the applicability of measuring circulating immunological biomarkers as an alternative strategy to characterize and monitor L. infantum asymptomatic infections in combination with serological methods. To this end, 179 children from a region endemic for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), aged 1–10 years old, selected from a cross-sectional study, were identified as asymptomatic (n = 81) or uninfected (n = 98) by qPCR and/or serological tests (ELISA using L. infantum soluble antigen and rK39), and, together with serum samples of children diagnosed with VL (n = 43), were subjected to avidity tests and cytokine levels measurement. Avidity rates (AR) ranging from 41 to 70% were found in 29 children (66%) from the asymptomatic group. On the other hand, high AR (above 70%) were observed in 27 children (64%) from the VL group. Logistic Regression and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analyses demonstrated that lower AR and IFN-γ production associated with higher IL-17A levels were hallmarks in asymptomatic L. infantum infections. Therefore, this study proposes an association of immunological biomarkers that can be used as a complementary strategy for the characterization and monitoring of asymptomatic VL infections in children living in endemic areas.

scholarly journals Evaluation of nine serological rapid tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Marcela Mercado ◽  
Jeadran Malagón-Rojas ◽  
Gabriela Delgado ◽  
Vivian Vanesa Rubio ◽  
Lida Muñoz Galindo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Study Groups ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Igg Antibodies ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Serological Tests ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Diagnostic Aid ◽  
Rapid Tests

Objective. To evaluate the operative capacity of nine serological rapid tests to detect the IgM/IgG antibodies response in serum from patients with SARS-CoV-2 in different clinical stages. Methods. A cross-sectional study of serological rapid tests was designed to compare the performance of the evaluated immunochromatographic tests for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2. A total of 293 samples was used, including negatives, asymptomatic, and symptomatic serum samples. Results. The sensitivity of the evaluated tests was low and moderate in the groups of asymptomatic serum samples and the group of serums coming from patients with less than 11 days since the onset of the symptoms. The specificity for the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies tests ranged between 86.5%-99% for IgM and 86.5%-99.5% for IgG. The sensitivity and the likelihood ratio were different according to the study groups. The usefulness of these tests is restricted to symptomatic patients and their sensitivity is greater than 85% after 11 days from the appearance of symptoms. Conclusions. Serological tests are not an adequate strategy for the identification of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic patients. Serological rapid tests for the detection of specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies can be used as a diagnostic aid, but diagnosis must be confirmed by RT-PCR. Rapid tests should be reserved for patients with symptoms lasting more than 11 days.

Leishmania infantum: illness, transmission profile and risk factors for asymptomatic infection in an endemic metropolis in Brazil

Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 546-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
LETÍCIA HELENA DOS SANTOS MARQUES ◽  
IARA CAIXETA MARQUES DA ROCHA ◽  
ILKA AFONSO REIS ◽  
GISELE MACEDO RODRIGUES DA CUNHA ◽  
EDWARD OLIVEIRA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Leishmania Infantum ◽  
Disease Incidence ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Asymptomatic Infection ◽  
Infection Prevalence ◽  
Prevalence Rates ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Relative Risks

SUMMARYTo evaluate the distribution of asymptomatic infection by Leishmania infantum in a metropolis in Brazil with different relative risks (RRs) for disease and risk factors associated with the infection, an ecological study was conducted using a Bayesian approach to estimate the RR of human visceral leishmaniasis (HVL) based on cases between 2008 and 2011. The areas were categorized and selected according to disease incidence: low (area-1), medium (area-2) and high (area-3). Cross-sectional study enrolling 935 children was used to estimate the prevalence of infection by L. infantum. Volunteers from these three areas were tested for L. infantum infection by ELISA (rK39 and soluble antigens). Infection prevalence rates were estimated and compared with the RR of disease. Multilevel logistic regression model evaluated the relationship between infection and the analysed variables. The RR of HVL was distributed heterogeneously in the municipality. The infection prevalence rates were: 34·9% in area-1; 29·3% in area-2; and 33·6% in area-3, with no significant differences between these areas. The variables ‘Presence of backyards in the neighbourhood’ and ‘Younger children’ were associated with L. infantum infection. We conclude that infection by L. infantum affects a significant proportion of the infant population regardless of the RR of disease.

scholarly journals Metric selection and promotional language in health artificial intelligence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Graham ◽  
Trisha Ghotra
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
System Development ◽  
Regression Tree ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Classification And Regression Tree ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Metric Selection ◽  
The Relationship

Background Recent advances in Artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to substantially improve healthcare across clinical areas. However, there are concerns health AI research may overstate the utility of newly developed systems and that certain metrics for measuring AI system performance may lead to an overly optimistic interpretation of research results. The current study aims to evaluate the relationship between researcher choice of AI performance metric and promotional language use in published abstracts. Methods and findings This cross-sectional study evaluated the relationship between promotional language and use of composite performance metrics (AUC or F1). A total of 1200 randomly sampled health AI abstracts drawn from PubMed were evaluated for metric selection and promotional language rates. Promotional language evaluation was accomplished through the development of a customized machine learning system that identifies promotional claims in abstracts describing the results of health AI system development. The language classification system was trained with an annotated dataset of 922 sentences. Collected sentences were annotated by two raters for evidence of promotional language. The annotators achieved 94.5% agreement (κ = 0.825). Several candidate models were evaluated and, the bagged classification and regression tree (CART) achieved the highest performance at Precision = 0.92 and Recall = 0.89. The final model was used to classify individual sentences in a sample of 1200 abstracts, and a quasi-Poisson framework was used to assess the relationship between metric selection and promotional language rates. The results indicate that use of AUC predicts a 12% increase (95% CI: 5-19%, p = 0.00104) in abstract promotional language rates and that use of F1 predicts a 16% increase (95% CI: 4% to 30%, p = 0. 00996). Conclusions Clinical trials evaluating spin, hype, or overstatement have found that the observed magnitude of increase is sufficient to induce misinterpretation of findings in researchers and clinicians. These results suggest that efforts to address hype in health AI need to attend to both underlying research methods and language choice.

scholarly journals Dietary, Physical Exercises and Mental Stress in A Chinese Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaona Li ◽  
Dan Tian ◽  
Pei Qin ◽  
Wen Guo ◽  
Jing Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Mental Stress ◽  
Regression Tree ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Ordinal Logistic Regression ◽  
Classification And Regression Tree ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
Fresh Vegetables

Abstract Background: Mental health is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. However, previous studies have showed conflict findings about the role of lifestyle. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between diet, exercise, and mental health, as well as factors related to mental stress.Methods: We recruited 8160 residents who had health examinations in a public hospital during June 2016 to May 2018.Demographic characteristics, diet, exercises, and mental health status. was collected by a questionnaire. We estimated the association using the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) based on Binary or ordinal logistic regression models. A classification and regression tree (CART) demonstrated the prediction of the value of a target variable based on other values.Results: Fried food intake, male, unmarried state, and aged ≤43 were associated with increased risks of mental stress while consuming more fresh vegetables or fruits showed a protective effect. The ordinal logistic regression model showed that increased consumption of meat (OR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.33-1.68), dessert (OR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.08-1.43) and pickled or smoked food (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.08-1.35) in males and increased consumption of dessert (OR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.05-1.38), pickled or smoked food (OR=1.14, 95% CI: 1.01-1.29), quitting smoking (OR=2.99, 95% CI: 1.14-7.85), quitting drinking (OR=2.42, 95% CI: 1.65-3.54), and drinking (OR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.21-1.79) in females are related to mental stress. Conclusions: Our study showed that both diet and behaviors were associated with mental health and affected the degree of stress, which provided novel insights into interventions.

scholarly journals Canine visceral leishmaniasis in the Krenak indigenous community, Resplendor, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, 2007

2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloiza Gonçalves Antônio ◽  
Marcos Aurélio Fulgêncio Malacco ◽  
Célia Maria Ferreira Gontijo ◽  
Eliana Furtado Moreira ◽  
Ivo Santana Caldas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Indigenous Community ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic Techniques ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Serological Tests ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Canine Infection

The authors conducted a cross-sectional study of the local canine population in the Krenak indigenous community to detect parasites of the genus Leishmania and identify the circulating species and the proportion of asymptomatic dogs, while investigating associations between canine infection and the dogs' sex, age, and hair length. A seroepidemiological survey was performed, including 63 dogs. All the animals underwent clinical examination to verify the presence of characteristic signs, and serum samples were taken for serological tests (ELISA, IIF). Infected dogs culled by the health service were necropsied and the material was analyzed using molecular diagnostic techniques. The cross-sectional study detected a 46% prevalence rate, and the circulating species was Leishmania (L.) chagasi. The statistical analysis showed no association between infection and the independent variables. The study generated data on the epidemiological situation with canine infection in the area, which was previously unknown.

scholarly journals Nationwide seroprevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in asymptomatic population in South Korea: a cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. e049837
Author(s):  
Eun-Hee Nah ◽  
Seon Cho ◽  
Hyeran Park ◽  
Inhwan Hwang ◽  
Han-Ik Cho
Keyword(s):  
South Korea ◽  
Clinical Status ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Serological Tests ◽  
Cross Sectional

ObjectiveAsymptomatic active infection might be an important contributor to the COVID-19 outbreak. Serological tests can assess the extent of exposure and herd immunity to COVID-19 in general populations. This study aimed to estimate the nationwide seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies according to age, sex and clinical status in South Korea.Design, setting and participantsThis cross-sectional study randomly selected health examinees who underwent health check-up at 16 health promotion centres in 13 Korean cities across the country between late September and early December 2020. Residual serum samples were obtained from 4085 subjects (2014 men and 2071 women). Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay using Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 (Roche Elecsys, Mannheim, Germany).Primary and secondary outcome measuresFisher’s exact test was used to compare the seroprevalence according to sex, age group and region. The relative risks of being seropositive according to the characteristics of the study subjects were analysed using logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe overall seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 was 0.39% (95% CI=0.20% to 0.58%): 0.30% (95% CI=0.06% to 0.54%) for men and 0.48% (95% CI=0.18% to 0.78%) for women. The rate of anti-SARS-CoV-2 positivity varied significantly between different regions of Korea (p=0.003), but not with age group, sex, or the statuses of obesity, diabetes, hypertension or smoking.ConclusionsMost of the Korean population is still immunologically vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2, but the seroprevalence has increased relative to that found in studies performed prior to September 2020 in Korea.

scholarly journals COMPARISON OF SEROLOGICAL TESTS AND PCR FOR DIAGNOSIS OF HUMAN BRUCELLOSIS SUFFERING FROM FEVER

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 109
Author(s):  
Satadal Das
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Human Brucellosis ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Serological Tests ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Specific Pcr ◽  
Igm Elisa ◽  
Combined Test ◽  
Positive Results

Objective: Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease throughout the globe and other developing countries. The present study was aimed to compare results of different serological tests and PCR for diagnosis of brucellosis in patients sufferings from fever in Kolkata and in adjoining districts.Methods: A total of 2088 serum samples were collected from the patients suffering from fever from January, 2013 to September, 2015. The samples were tested by serological tests STAT, RBPT, ELISA(IgM,IgG) and Brucella genus specific PCR. Results: The study revealed decreasing positive results by STAT (18.43%, N=385), RBPT (12.59%, N=263), IgM ELISA (7.71%, N=161), PCR (4.21%, N=88) and IgG ELISA (1.43%, N=30). When serological tests were compared with PCR, it was found that both STAT and PCR were positive in 84 samples( 4.02%), both RBPT and PCR were positive in 65 samples(3.11%), both IgM and PCR were positive in 51 samples(2.44%) and both IgG and PCR were positive in 9 samples(0.43%). Conclusion: In this cross sectional study in a zonal population of India it was found that STAT was the most sensitive test for diagnosis of brucellosis followed by RBPT when compared to PCR test results. Four STAT negative samples showed positive results in PCR, which were positive by RBPT test. This indicates that if we combine STAT and RBPT for diagnosis of brucellosis then both sensitivity and specificity of the combined test will increase.Keywords: Brucellosis, STAT, RBPT, ELISA, Genus specific PCR.

scholarly journals Role of human epididymis protein 4 for detection of ovarian carcinoma in adnexal masses: A pilot study

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nidhi Bansal ◽  
A. Suneja ◽  
K. Guleria ◽  
N. B. Vaid ◽  
K. Mishra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Accuracy ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Ca 125 ◽  
Serum Samples ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Adnexal Masses ◽  
Good Discriminator ◽  
Risk Of Malignancy ◽  
Risk Of Malignancy Index ◽  
Benign Tumours

Introduction: HE4 is a novel tumour biomarker used for early diagnosis of ovarian cancer. This study evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of HE4 alone and in combination with CA125, risk of malignancy index (RMI), risk of malignancy algorithm (ROMA). Methods: It was a cross sectional study conducted recruiting 88 women with adnexal masses who were planned for surgery. After baseline work up and ultrasound examination, serum samples were collected for estimation of CA 125 and HE4 levels. Serum HE4 levels were estimated using ELISA kit. RMI and ROMA score were calculated and diagnostic accuracy of HE4, CA 125, RMI, ROMA and their combination were compared. Cut off for HE4 and ROMA score were calculated using ROC curve. Results: Of 88 subjects, 66 were analyzed with 19 malignant (including 5 LMP) and 47 benign cases. The median value of HE4 among malignant cases was found to be significantly higher than among the benign cases. PPV and NPV of HE4 at a cut off 130.8 pMol/ml was 85.7% and 77.9% respectively. Highest PPV (88.9%) with acceptable NPV (80.7%) was found with ROMA followed by HE4 (PPV 85.7%; NPV 77.97%), RMI (PPV 76.92%; NPV 83%) and CA125 (PPV 52%; NPV 80.85%). Conclusion: HE4 levels were lower in Indian population both in malignant and benign tumours as compared to other studies. HE4 is a good discriminator and gives best accuracy when it is combined with CA125 in a logistic algorithm, ROMA.

scholarly journals Implications of Lifestyle and Occupational Factors on the Risk of Breast Cancer in Shiftwork Nurses

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 649
Author(s):  
Javier Fagundo-Rivera ◽  
Regina Allande-Cussó ◽  
Mónica Ortega-Moreno ◽  
Juan Jesús García-Iglesias ◽  
Adolfo Romero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Shift Work ◽  
Regression Tree ◽  
Night Work ◽  
Circadian Disruption ◽  
Classification And Regression Tree ◽  
Baseline Risk ◽  
Unhealthy Lifestyle ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Occupational Factors

Shift work that involves circadian disruption has been highlighted as a likely carcinogenic factor for breast cancer in humans. Also, unhealthy lifestyle habits observed in night work nurses could be causally related to an increase in the incidence of estrogen-positive breast tumours in this population. Assessing baseline risk of breast cancer in nurses is essential. The objective of this study was to analyze the risk of breast cancer that nurses had in relation to their lifestyle and labour factors related to shift work. A cross-sectional descriptive study through a questionnaire about sociodemographic variables, self-perception of health, and working life was designed. The sample consisted of 966 nurses. The relationship between variables was tested. A binary logistic regression and a classification and regression tree were performed. The most significant labour variables in relation to the risk of breast cancer were the number of years worked (more than 16 years; p < 0.01; OR = 8.733, 95% CI = 2.811, 27.134) and the total years performing more than 3 nights per month (10 or more years; p < 0.05; OR = 2.294, 95% CI = 1.008, 5.220). Also, the nights worked throughout life (over 500; OR = 4.190, 95% CI = 2.118, 8.287) were significant in the analysis. Nurses who had or ever had breast cancer valued their self-perceived health more negatively (p < 0.001) and referred a lower quality of sleep (p < 0.001) than the non-cases nurses. The occupational factors derived from night work could have several impacts on nurses’ health and their family-work balance. Promoting healthy lifestyles, informing about shift work risks, and adjusting shift work schedules are critical methods to decrease the possible effects of circadian disruption in nurses.

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