scholarly journals Orthopoxvirus Detection in Environmental Specimens during Suspected Bioterror Attacks: Inhibitory Influences of Common Household Products

2007 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Kurth ◽  
John Achenbach ◽  
Liljia Miller ◽  
Ian M. Mackay ◽  
Georg Pauli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virus Isolation ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immunofluorescence Assay ◽  
Internal Controls ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Biological Method ◽  
Inhibitory Effects ◽  
Household Products

ABSTRACT After terrorists attacked the United States in 2001, the appearance of letters and other objects containing powdery substances with unknown potentials for biological threat focused attention on the speed, sensitivity, and reliability of diagnostic methods. This study summarizes the abilities and limitations of real-time PCR, electron microscopy (EM), and virus isolation when used to detect potential bioweapons. In particular, we investigated the inhibitory influences of different common household products present in environmental specimens on PCR yield, EM detection, and virus isolation. We used vaccinia virus as a model for orthopoxviruses by spiking it into specimens. In the second part of the study, we describe modifications of diagnostic methods to overcome inhibitory effects. A variety of PCR amplification enhancers, DNA extraction protocols, and applications of internal controls were evaluated to improve diagnostic simplicity, speed, and reliability. As a result, we strongly recommend using at least two different frontline techniques in parallel, e.g., EM and PCR. A positive result obtained by any one of these techniques should be followed by a biological method to confirm the putative diagnosis. Confirmatory methods include virus isolation followed by an agent-specific immunofluorescence assay to confirm the presence of replication-competent particles.

scholarly journals Detection of Antibodies against Orientia tsutsugamushi Sca Proteins in Scrub Typhus Patients and Genetic Variation ofscaGenes of Different Strains

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1442-1451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Na-Young Ha ◽  
Yuri Kim ◽  
Ji-Hye Choi ◽  
Myung-Sik Choi ◽  
Ik-Sang Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scrub Typhus ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
Febrile Illness ◽  
Immunofluorescence Assay ◽  
Antibody Responses ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Orientia Tsutsugamushi ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Asian Pacific Region ◽  
Different Strains

ABSTRACTScrub typhus, caused byOrientia tsutsugamushiinfection, is one of the main causes of acute febrile illness in the Asian-Pacific region. Although early diagnosis and immediate antibiotic treatment are critical for reducing disease severity and mortality, current diagnostic methods using serological and molecular approaches have some limitations in sensitivity and applicability in clinical laboratories. In this study, we identified and characterizedO. tsutsugamushisurface cell antigen (sca) family genes encoding autotransporter proteins in order to test them as novel diagnostic targets. We evaluated antibody responses against the Sca proteins in scrub typhus patient sera and examined the genetic diversity of these genes in different strains after PCR amplification. Specific antibody responses against ScaA and ScaC were observed in patients with high indirect immunofluorescence assay titers (≥1:640), whereas specific responses against ScaB and ScaE were relatively low. Genetic analysis using genomic DNAs revealed thescagenes to be quite variable among the different strains. In contrast toscaA,scaC, andscaD, which were detected in all of the tested strains,scaBandscaEwere amplified differentially from the different strains, suggesting a differential presence of the genes in the genomes. Among the members of the gene family, the sequence ofscaCis the most highly conserved between the different strains, and the size ofscaDis the most variable due to the presence of different numbers of internal repeat sequences. These results suggest that thescagenes ofO. tsutsugamushimay be valuable targets for use in combination with classical assay methods for scrub typhus diagnosis.

scholarly journals Toward Resolving the Challenges of Sepsis Diagnosis

2004 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 1301-1314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn D Carrigan ◽  
George Scott ◽  
Maryam Tabrizian
Keyword(s):  
Medical Diagnosis ◽  
Delayed Diagnosis ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immune Monitoring ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Magic Bullet ◽  
Sepsis Diagnosis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Related Mortality

Abstract Sepsis in the United States has an estimated annual healthcare cost of $16.7 billion and leads to 120 000 deaths. Insufficient development in both medical diagnosis and treatment of sepsis has led to continued growth in reported cases of sepsis over the past two decades with little improvement in mortality statistics. Efforts over the last decade to improve diagnosis have unsuccessfully sought to identify a “magic bullet” proteic biomarker that provides high sensitivity and specificity for infectious inflammation. More recently, genetic methods have made tracking regulation of the genes responsible for these biomarkers possible, giving current research new direction in the search to understand how host immune response combats infection. Despite the breadth of research, inadequate treatment as a result of delayed diagnosis continues to affect approximately one fourth of septic patients. In this report we review past and present diagnostic methods for sepsis and their respective limitations, and discuss the requirements for more timely diagnosis as the next step in curtailing sepsis-related mortality. We also present a proposal toward revision of the current diagnostic paradigm to include real-time immune monitoring.

MOTHER FIGHTS TO RUIN THE TASTE OF POISON

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. A42-A42
Author(s):  
J. F. L.
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Executive Director ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Television ◽  
Small Children ◽  
Nail Polish ◽  
Household Products ◽  
Promising Area ◽  
Poison Prevention ◽  
Flavoring Agent

On March 6, a mother in Oregon watched a public television report about British companies that were discouraging children from eating poisonous household products by lacing them with Bitrex, the world's bitterest flavoring agent. The woman, Lynn Tylczak, who has two small children and lives in Albany, 60 miles south of Portland, began a letter-writing campaign that is focusing attention on poison prevention. She may also be speeding Bitrex's journey to supermarket shelves in products like detergents, nail-polish removers, rodenticides and antifreeze. "Mrs. Tylczak has already achieved a certain victory by bringing national attention to this issue," said Linda Golodner, executive director of the National Consumers League in Washington. "She has shown that a single consumer can make a difference." Now she is encouraging manufacturers to add Bitrex to their products by sharing with them letters of support that are sent to her group, the Poison-Proff Project (4384 S.E. Ermine Street, Albany, Ore. 97321). `A Very Promising Area' Consumer and safety organizations in the United States are beginning to notice. On May 5, the National Safety Council, a 13,000-member public-service organization, called on manufacturers to use Bitrex in all appropriate household products. "Bitrex is the most bitter substance known to man," according to the Merck Index. In 1982, some British companies began using Bitrex in household products to deter inquisitive children, but the practice did not grow until two years ago, when the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents endorsed its use.

Poison Centers, Poison Prevention, and the Pediatrician

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick H. Lovejoy ◽  
William O. Robertson ◽  
Alan D. Woolf
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Poison Control ◽  
Poison Center ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Household Products ◽  
Prevention Model ◽  
Poison Centers ◽  
History Of ◽  
Poison Prevention ◽  
Remarkable Progress

The first poison centers were established in the United States in the early 1950s, stimulated by an American Academy of Pediatrics' survey of office-based pediatric practices which ascertained that its members had no place to turn for ingredient information on medications and household products.1 With the help of the Academy, pediatrician Dr. Edward Press, the Illinois Department of Health, and several community hospitals, the first poison center emerged. Over the subsequent 40 years, remarkable progress has occurred in the fields of clinical toxicology, poison control, and poison prevention. Yet despite these accomplishments, challenging clouds are appearing on the horizon which threaten these gains. This commentary, by the authors who have viewed and participated in a large part of the history of this progress, will focus on these major accomplishments with an emphasis on (a) poison prevention utilizing the pre-event (primary prevention), (b) the event (secondary prevention), and (c) the postevent (tertiary prevention) model.2

scholarly journals Comparative evaluation of conventional RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR (RRT-PCR) for detection of avian metapneumovirus subtype A

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 1445-1451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helena Lage Ferreira ◽  
Fernando Rosado Spilki ◽  
Márcia Mercês Aparecida Bianchi dos Santos ◽  
Renata Servan de Almeida ◽  
Clarice Weis Arns
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Comparative Evaluation ◽  
Virus Isolation ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
N Gene ◽  
Genomic Rna ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Avian Metapneumovirus ◽  
Lower Detection ◽  
Subtype A

Avian metapneumovirus (AMPV) belongs to Metapneumovirus genus of Paramyxoviridae family. Virus isolation, serology, and detection of genomic RNA are used as diagnostic methods for AMPV. The aim of the present study was to compare the detection of six subgroup A AMPV isolates (AMPV/A) viral RNA by using different conventional and real time RT-PCR methods. Two new RT-PCR tests and two real time RT-PCR tests, both detecting fusion (F) gene and nucleocapsid (N) gene were compared with an established test for the attachment (G) gene. All the RT-PCR tested assays were able to detect the AMPV/A. The lower detection limits were observed using the N-, F- based RRT-PCR and F-based conventional RT-PCR (10(0.3) to 10¹ TCID50 mL-1). The present study suggests that the conventional F-based RT-PCR presented similar detection limit when compared to N- and F-based RRT-PCR and they can be successfully used for AMPV/A detection.

scholarly journals Ancillary techniques on the evaluation of canine cutaneous mast cell tumors from Brazil

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 1804-1810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariana Martins Flores ◽  
Renata Dalcol Mazaro ◽  
Ingeborg Maria Langohr ◽  
Alma Roy ◽  
Keith Strother ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mast Cell ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
The United States ◽  
Growth Fraction ◽  
Grading System ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Ki 67 ◽  
Mast Cell Tumors ◽  
Cutaneous Mast Cell ◽  
Exon 11

ABSTRACT: The use of histologic classification by a 2-tier grading system only, immunohistochemistry (IHC) for KIT and Ki-67 and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for internal tandem duplications (ITD) on exon 11 has improved the prognostication of canine cutaneous mast cell tumors (CCMTs) particularly in the United States. However, these techniques are not commonly used in most Brazilian laboratories. Likewise, no studies, to date, have investigated the occurrence of ITD in CCMTs from the country. Thus, this study tested the 2-tier grading system, the immunohistochemistry for KIT and Ki-67 and the PCR for exon 11 in a group of Brazilian CCMTs with the goal of investigating the applicability of these tests in a Brazilian laboratory. Of the 39 CCMTs, 69.2% (27/39) were identified as low-grade and 30.8% (12/39) as high-grade by a 2-tier grading system. All tumors had a KIT expression pattern II, and 30.6% (11/36) had a high growth fraction (Ki-67). PCR amplification was successful in four of the 11 tumors examined. Two of these (50%) were positive for ITD. This study highlights the importance of using auxiliary techniques in the CCMT evaluation, identifies limitations and confirms the applicability of these methods on a routine diagnostic basis in Brazil. Our results will help to improve the prognostication of CCMTs in Brazilian diagnostic laboratories, encouraging the use of supplementary methods.

scholarly journals First Report of Plum pox virus (Sharka Disease) in Prunus persica in the United States

Plant Disease ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Levy ◽  
V. Damsteegt ◽  
R. Welliver
Keyword(s):  
Prunus Persica ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Sandwich Elisa ◽  
Pcr Amplification ◽  
The United States ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Plum Pox Virus ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Peach Fruit ◽  
First Report

Plum pox (Sharka) is the most important virus disease of Prunus in Europe and the Mediterranean region and is caused by Plum pox potyvirus (PPV). In September 1999, PPV-like symptoms were observed in peach fruit culls in a packinghouse in Pennsylvania. All symptomatic fruit originated from a single block of peach (P. persica cv. Encore) in Adams County. Trees in the block exhibited ring pattern symptoms on their leaves. A potyvirus was detected in symptomatic fruit using the Poty-Group enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test from Agdia (Elkhart, IN). Reactions for symptomatic peach fruit and leaves also were positive using triple-antibody sandwich ELISA with the PPV polyclonal antibody from Bioreba (Carrboro, NC) for coating, the Poty-Group monoclonal antibody (MAb; Agdia) as the intermediate antibody, and double-antibody sandwich ELISA with PPV detection kits from Sanofi (Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, Marnes-La-Coquette, France) and Agdia and the REAL PPV kit (Durviz, Valencia, Spain) containing universal (5B) and strain typing (4DG5 and AL) PPV MAbs (1). PPV also was identified by immunocapture-reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (IC-RT-PCR) amplification and subsequent sequencing of the 220-bp 3′ noncoding region (2) (>99% sequence homology to PPV) and by IC-RT-PCR amplification of a 243-bp product in the coat protein (CP) gene (1). The virus was identified as PPV strain D based on serological typing with strainspecific MAbs and on PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism of the CP IC-RT-PCR product with Rsa1 and Alu1 (1). This is the first report of PPV in North America. References: (1) T. Candresse et al. Phytopathology 88:198, 1998. (2) L. Levy and A. Hadidi. EPPO Bull. 24:595, 1994.

scholarly journals SCREENING IN CARDIOLOGY

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 92-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. V. Samorodskaya
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
The United States ◽  
Diagnostic Methods ◽  
Screening Programs ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
Screening Strategies ◽  
National Programs ◽  
Expensive Process ◽  
Current Guidelines

The organization of screening is a complex and expensive process. Many countries have implemented and continue to implement various health screening programs in the population groups. However, there is a process of refusing to screen certain diseases. In cardiology, some screening strategies are integrated in the national programs aimed at identifying risk factors and preventing chronic non-communicable diseases. None of the countries have established the screening of the entire population for all known cardiovascular diseases (CVD) using all known diagnostic methods. The decision to screen individuals for CVDs / risk factors within the opportunistic screening in the target populations in different countries varies, since it depends on many factors. The article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of screening for CVD, presents current guidelines from professional communities and national services of the United States of America, Great Britain, and Canada.

scholarly journals Pollution Prevention/Environmental Sustainability for Industry

Environments ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Bruce Dvorak
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Pollution Prevention ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Focused Attention ◽  
Production Operation ◽  
Prevention Act

It has been 30 years since, in the United States, the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 focused attention on reducing pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use [...]

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