Comparison of Visual Immunoassay and Chromogenic Culture Medium for the Presence of Listeria spp. in Foods

Abstract Two rapid screening methods [the TECRA™ Listeria Visual Immunoassay (LIS–VIS) kit, an AOAC-approved 48 h visual test, which detects Listeria through colorimetry, and BCM™ Listeria isolation and differentiation plating agar] were used to screen U.S. Food and Drug Administration-regulated commodities for the presence of Listeria spp. Seventy-four different food samples were screened for the presence of Listeria spp. by using both protocols. Test results for the TECRA LIS–VIA showed 66 negative samples and 1 false positive, with 4 confirmed as L. monocytogenes and 3 as L. innocua. With the BCM agar, 67 samples were negative, 4 were confirmed as L. monocytogenes, and 3 were confirmed as L. innocua. Both methods showed similar results and were effective screening tools for Listeria spp. in foods. The BCM agar method proved to be a rapid, sensitive, and excellent tool for early screening and differentiation of Listeria spp. present in foods.

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Efficiency of Two Commercial ELISA Kits Compared with the BAM Culture Method for Detecting Listeria in Naturally Contaminated Foods

Journal of AOAC INTERNATIONAL ◽

10.1093/jaoac/74.5.819 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 74 (5) ◽

pp. 819-821 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Charles W Noah ◽

Nora C Ramos ◽

Virginia M Gipson

Keyword(s):

Culture Method ◽

Elisa Test ◽

Food Samples ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Test Results ◽

Enrichment Broth ◽

University Of Vermont

Abstract The efficiency of 2 commercial enzyme-linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kite (Listeria-Tek™ and Tecra™) for detecting Listeria in naturally contaminated foods was evaluated and compared with that of the culture method described in the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM). Both ELISAs use modified University of Vermont (UVM-1) medium as a primary enrichment; the BAM method uses Listeria enrichment broth. Secondary enrichments for Llsterla-Tek and Tecra, respectively, were Fraser broth and UVM-2, which contains additional acriflavln-HCI. When ELISA test results differed, secondary enrichments were tested against the other ELISA; Fraser broth was used to determine recovery rates because of Its superiority over UVM-2. Of the 178 food samples examined, the presence of Listeria was detected and culturally confirmed in 38, 37, and 40 samples by the BAM, Llsterla- Tek, and Tecra methods, respectively. Differences in results of the EUSAs compared with those of the BAM method were not statistically significant; however, differences between results of the 2 ELISA methods were significant. It was concluded that as rapid screening methods, the Llsteria-Tek and the Tecra kits qualify as alternative methods to the BAM cultural method.

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Frailty Screening Tools: Frail Detection to Primary Assessment

Elderly Health Journal ◽

10.18502/ehj.v6i1.3417 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jonathan Aseye Nutakor ◽

Alexander Kwame Gavu

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Functional Decline ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Screening Tools ◽

Test Results ◽

Huge Number ◽

Early Screening ◽

Precise Tool ◽

Primary Assessment

Frailty is a vulnerable situation among older adults which can lead to unfavorable health outcomes such as falls, mortality, functional decline and institutionalization. The increasing number of elderly people and low rate of mortality has necessitated the need for high-quality medical services for this aging population, and this has led to a high cost of geriatric health care. There exist a huge number of screening tools to detect frailty and it is important for researchers and general practitioners (GPs) to select the appropriate and precise tool that would effectively lead to quality results. Frail individuals can be managed effectively when there is an early screening and intervention. Healthcare providers need tools that are simple and validated in order for screening and interventions to become effective. Self-reported frailty screening tools are very simple to use, not expensive and test results can be interpreted by non-health professionals. This work reviewed some of the commonly used frailty screening tools, and proposed a practical approach that would assist GPs in assessing frailty in older adults.

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Rapid screening methods for beta-emitters in food samples

Journal of Environmental Radioactivity ◽

10.1016/j.jenvrad.2014.12.010 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 141 ◽

pp. 130-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Vos van Avezathe ◽

P.N. Brandhoff ◽

M.J. van Bourgondiën ◽

G.C. Krijger

Keyword(s):

Food Samples ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Beta Emitters

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Detection of sulfamethazine in water, milk and pig manure by dipstick immunoassay

Veterinární Medicína ◽

10.17221/2045-vetmed ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 52 (No. 10) ◽

pp. 445-450 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

V.B. Kandimalla ◽

N. Kandimalla ◽

K. Hruska ◽

M. Franek

Keyword(s):

Cost Effective ◽

Food Samples ◽

Pig Manure ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Test Results ◽

Visual Measurement ◽

The Past ◽

Colour Development ◽

Control Spot ◽

Simple Screening

During the past few years, there has been an increasing interest in rapid visual tests that could be performed outside the laboratory, for example on farms, in store houses or in food production plants. Hence, cost effective and simple screening methods are required for residual analysis of environmental and food samples on-site. Here, a simple and instrumental independent dipstick immunoassay for sulfamethazine detection is described. The polyclonal antibody was optimised in terms of coating dilution on a nitrocellulose membrane, dilution of peroxidase tracer conjugate, blocking agents and incubation times. Test results assessed by visual measurement can be available within 20 minutes. In buffer, water, skimmed milk and pig manure extract, sulfamethazine fortified at 50 and 100 µg/l has exhibited clear visual differentiation in colour development (lower intensity) in comparison to the control spot intensity (high intensity) of the dipstick.

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Rapid Screening for Salmonella in Raw Pet Food by Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/jfp-20-365 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kelly J. Domesle ◽

Shenia R. Young ◽

Beilei Ge

Keyword(s):

Foodborne Pathogens ◽

Food Samples ◽

Isothermal Amplification ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Lamp Method ◽

Pet Food ◽

Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification ◽

Freeze Dried ◽

Antimicrobial Resistance Genes

Raw pet food, comprised of raw meat and vegetables, has increased in popularity in recent years. Multiple surveys and frequent recalls indicate that this commodity has a high risk of contamination with Salmonella and other foodborne pathogens. Improved screening methods are needed to meet the growing demand for testing. This matrix verification study aimed to apply a Salmonella loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method, recently completed multi-laboratory validation in dry dog food, in several raw pet food matrices, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s method validation guidelines. Five types of raw pet food, consisting of freeze-dried beef and chicken treats, and frozen beef, pork, and turkey complete foods, were evaluated. For each matrix, two sets of ten 25-g test portions (seven inoculated with ≤ 30 cells of Salmonella Typhimurium and three uninoculated controls) were examined. One set was preenriched in buffered peptone water and the other one in lactose broth, which was followed by LAMP screening using two isothermal master mixes (ISO-001 and ISO-004). All results were confirmed by culture as specified in the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM). The LAMP method accurately detected Salmonella in all inoculated test portions of the five raw pet food samples, regardless of the preenrichment broth used. Positive results could be obtained within 4 min of the LAMP run using the LAMP ISO-004 master mix. All uninoculated controls tested negative by LAMP or BAM. Additionally, one turkey-based complete pet food sample was found to be already contaminated with three Salmonella serovars harboring multiple antimicrobial resistance genes. The Salmonella LAMP method offers a rapid, reliable, and robust tool for routine screening of Salmonella in raw pet food, which will help better ensure product safety and protect public health.

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Rapid Screening Methods for Bleeding Disorders. A Three Year Survey

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1654846 ◽

1964 ◽

Vol 11 (02) ◽

pp. 506-512 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

V. A Lovric ◽

J Margolis

Keyword(s):

Laboratory Tests ◽

Capillary Blood ◽

Screening Tests ◽

Rapid Screening ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Bleeding Disorders ◽

Routine Laboratory ◽

Clotting Time ◽

Kaolin Clotting Time ◽

In Infants And Children

SummaryAn adaptation of “kaolin clotting time” and prothrombin time for use on haemolysed capillary blood provided simple and sensitive screening tests suitable for use in infants and children. A survey of three year’s experience shows that these are reliable routine laboratory tests for detection of latent coagulation disorders.

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Screening of High-risk Patients for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Primary Care: A Narrative Review (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.20837 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ponrathi Athilingam ◽

Andrew Bugajski ◽

Usha Menon

Keyword(s):

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Lung Function ◽

Pulmonary Disease ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Screening Tools ◽

Chronic Obstructive ◽

Early Screening ◽

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Impaired Lung Function ◽

Risk Patients

UNSTRUCTURED Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) predominantly affects older adults, and claimed 3 million lives in 2016, making it the third leading cause of death worldwide. Over 35 million Americans aged 40 or older have lung function consistent with diagnosable COPD. COPD and cardiovascular disease (CVD) have a bidirectional relationship, in that one is a risk factor for developing the other. National and international consortiums recommend early screening of adults at risk of COPD, such as those with CVD. Recommended screening strategies include screening tools to assess symptoms, medical history, and handheld spirometry. Handheld spirometry has high diagnostic accuracy and if impaired lung function is indicated, these patients are referred for pulmonary function testing (PFT), the diagnostic gold standard for COPD. However, there is no clinical consensus for pulmonary screening in people with CVD. Current knowledge relating to the prevalence and incidence of CVD in people with COPD and the mechanisms that underlie their coexistence is key in combating the global burden of COPD.

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AI-Empowered Computational Examination of Chest Imaging for COVID-19 Treatment: A Review

Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence ◽

10.3389/frai.2021.612914 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

Author(s):

Hanqiu Deng ◽

Xingyu Li

Keyword(s):

False Negative ◽

Screening Tools ◽

Polymerase Chain Reaction Test ◽

Test Results ◽

First Case ◽

Lung Scan ◽

Screening Efficiency ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

Chain Reaction Test ◽

Full Swing

Since the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was discovered in December 2019, COVID-19 swiftly spread over the world. By the end of March 2021, more than 136 million patients have been infected. Since the second and third waves of the COVID-19 outbreak are in full swing, investigating effective and timely solutions for patients’ check-ups and treatment is important. Although the SARS-CoV-2 virus-specific reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test is recommended for the diagnosis of COVID-19, the test results are prone to be false negative in the early course of COVID-19 infection. To enhance the screening efficiency and accessibility, chest images captured via X-ray or computed tomography (CT) provide valuable information when evaluating patients with suspected COVID-19 infection. With advanced artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, AI-driven models training with lung scans emerge as quick diagnostic and screening tools for detecting COVID-19 infection in patients. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art AI-empowered methods for computational examination of COVID-19 patients with lung scans. In this regard, we searched for papers and preprints on bioRxiv, medRxiv, and arXiv published for the period from January 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021, using the keywords of COVID, lung scans, and AI. After the quality screening, 96 studies are included in this review. The reviewed studies were grouped into three categories based on their target application scenarios: automatic detection of coronavirus disease, infection segmentation, and severity assessment and prognosis prediction. The latest AI solutions to process and analyze chest images for COVID-19 treatment and their advantages and limitations are presented. In addition to reviewing the rapidly developing techniques, we also summarize publicly accessible lung scan image sets. The article ends with discussions of the challenges in current research and potential directions in designing effective computational solutions to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the future.

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The CRCbiome study: a large prospective cohort study examining the role of lifestyle and the gut microbiome in colorectal cancer screening participants

BMC Cancer ◽

10.1186/s12885-021-08640-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ane Sørlie Kværner ◽

Einar Birkeland ◽

Cecilie Bucher-Johannessen ◽

Elina Vinberg ◽

Jan Inge Nordby ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Colorectal Cancer ◽

Cancer Screening ◽

Gut Microbiome ◽

Precancerous Lesions ◽

Colorectal Carcinogenesis ◽

Screening Tools ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Crc Screening ◽

Link Type ◽

Incidence And Mortality

Abstract Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening reduces CRC incidence and mortality. However, current screening methods are either hampered by invasiveness or suboptimal performance, limiting their effectiveness as primary screening methods. To aid in the development of a non-invasive screening test with improved sensitivity and specificity, we have initiated a prospective biomarker study (CRCbiome), nested within a large randomized CRC screening trial in Norway. We aim to develop a microbiome-based classification algorithm to identify advanced colorectal lesions in screening participants testing positive for an immunochemical fecal occult blood test (FIT). We will also examine interactions with host factors, diet, lifestyle and prescription drugs. The prospective nature of the study also enables the analysis of changes in the gut microbiome following the removal of precancerous lesions. Methods The CRCbiome study recruits participants enrolled in the Bowel Cancer Screening in Norway (BCSN) study, a randomized trial initiated in 2012 comparing once-only sigmoidoscopy to repeated biennial FIT, where women and men aged 50–74 years at study entry are invited to participate. Since 2017, participants randomized to FIT screening with a positive test result have been invited to join the CRCbiome study. Self-reported diet, lifestyle and demographic data are collected prior to colonoscopy after the positive FIT-test (baseline). Screening data, including colonoscopy findings are obtained from the BCSN database. Fecal samples for gut microbiome analyses are collected both before and 2 and 12 months after colonoscopy. Samples are analyzed using metagenome sequencing, with taxonomy profiles, and gene and pathway content as primary measures. CRCbiome data will also be linked to national registries to obtain information on prescription histories and cancer relevant outcomes occurring during the 10 year follow-up period. Discussion The CRCbiome study will increase our understanding of how the gut microbiome, in combination with lifestyle and environmental factors, influences the early stages of colorectal carcinogenesis. This knowledge will be crucial to develop microbiome-based screening tools for CRC. By evaluating biomarker performance in a screening setting, using samples from the target population, the generalizability of the findings to future screening cohorts is likely to be high. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01538550.

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Multifactorial pathways facilitate resilience among kindergarteners at risk for dyslexia: A longitudinal behavioral and neuroimaging study

10.1101/618298 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer Zuk ◽

Jade Dunstan ◽

Elizabeth Norton ◽

Xi Yu ◽

Ola Ozernov-Palchik ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Age Factors ◽

Positive Association ◽

Screening Methods ◽

Compensatory Mechanisms ◽

Early Screening ◽

Decoding Skills ◽

Cognitive Linguistic ◽

At Risk Children ◽

The Right

ABSTRACTRecent efforts have focused on screening methods to identify children at risk for dyslexia as early as preschool/kindergarten. Unfortunately, while low sensitivity leads to under-identification of at-risk children, low specificity can lead to over-identification, resulting in inaccurate allocation of limited educational resources. The present study focused on children identified as at-risk in kindergarten who donotsubsequently develop dyslexia to specify factors associated with better reading outcomes among at-risk children. Early screening was conducted in kindergarten and a subset of children was tracked longitudinally until second grade. Potential protective factors were evaluated at cognitive-linguistic, environmental, and neural levels. Relative to at-risk kindergarteners who subsequently developed dyslexia, those who did not were characterized by significantly higher socioeconomic status (SES), speech production accuracy, and microstructure of the posterior right-hemispheric superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). A positive association between microstructure of the right SLF and subsequent decoding skills was found to be specific to at-risk children and not observed among typical controls. Among at-risk children, several kindergarten-age factors were found to significantly contribute to the prediction of subsequent decoding skills: microstructure of the posterior right SLF, age, gender, SES, and phonological awareness. These findings suggest that putative compensatory mechanisms are already present by the start of kindergarten. The right SLF, in conjunction with the cognitive-linguistic and socioeconomic factors identified, may play an important role in facilitating reading development among at-risk children. This study has important implications for approaches to early screening, and assessment strategies for at-risk children.

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