Prevalence of Chlamydia Trachomatis Infections in Symptomatic Patients in Bulgaria

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-87
Author(s):  
V. Ouzounova ◽  
J. Haralambieva ◽  
I. Mitov

The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of C. trachomatis infection in symptomatic patients and to compare our data with similar studies made in Bulgaria. 822 patients were included in the study with a diagnosis suggestive of Chlamydial infection: urethritis, prostatitis, Reiter syndrome, cervicitis, salpingitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, infertility, etc. The samples were cell cultured on McCoy and detected by immunofluorescence with anti-lipopolysaccharide monoclonal antibody. The prevalence of C. trachomatis infection in symptomatic patients was about 37% in the investigated 822 urogenital samples (568 women and 254 men). Active infection with C. trachomatis was detected in 39% of the women and in 33% of the men. Our study shows a relatively high prevalence of C. trachomatis infection in symptomatic patients; a lower prevalence of the infection in comparison with other Bulgarian studies, using different methods for detection. The results prove the high sensitivity and specificity of the cell-culture method for the detection of Chlamydial infections and the need for screening of the symptomatic patients and their sexual partners for Chlamydial infection.

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 296-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Manavi ◽  
A McMillan ◽  
H Young

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in the partners of men with non-chlamydial, non-gonococcal urethritis (NCNGU). Observational study of the sexual partners of men with NCNGU diagnosed in the Department of Genitourinary Medicine, Edinburgh between 1 June 2002 and 31 December 2003. The diagnosis of chlamydial infection was based on ligase chain reaction (LCx) between June 2002 and March 2003, and on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) thereafter. Gonococcal infection was diagnosed with culture method. Sexual partners of 99 (25%) of the 403 heterosexual men diagnosed with NCNGU were screened. Chlamydial infection was detected in 19 (19%) of the female sexual partners. Higher proportion of female partners of symptomatic men (15/51) had chlamydial infection compared with that of partners of asymptomatic men (4/48) ( P < 0.005). NCNGU may be related to false-negative results of chlamydial diagnostic tests. Screening and treatment of sexual partners of men with NCNGU is therefore necessary.


1993 ◽  
Vol 70 (02) ◽  
pp. 266-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giancarlo Agnelli ◽  
Benilde Cosmi ◽  
Stefano Radicchia ◽  
Franca Veschi ◽  
Enrico Boschetti ◽  
...  

SummaryImpedance plethysmography (IPG) has high sensitivity and specificity in patients with symptomatic deep vein thrombosis (DVT) while it fails to detect asymptomatic DVT. The aim of this study was to determine whether the features of thrombi such as location, size and occlusiveness could explain the different accuracy of IPG in symptomatic and asymptomatic DVT patients. One-hundred and seventeen consecutive outpatients with a clinical suspicion of DVT and 246 consecutive patients undergoing hip surgery were admitted to the study. In symptomatic patients IPG was performed on the day of referral, followed by venography, while in asymptomatic patients IPG was performed as a surveillance programme, followed by bilateral venography.A venography proved DVT was observed in 37% of the symptomatic patients and 34% of the asymptomatic limbs. A significantly higher proportion of proximal DVTs was found in symptomatic patients than in asymptomatic patients (78% vs 46%; p = 0.001). The mean Marder score, taken as an index of thrombus size, was significantly higher in symptomatic patients than in asymptomatic patients (19.0 vs 9.6; p = 0.0001). A significantly higher proportion of occlusive DVTs was observed in symptomatic than in asymptomatic patients (69% vs 36%; p = 0.001).We conclude that the unsatisfactory diagnostic accuracy of IPG in asymptomatic DVT is due to the high prevalence of distal, small and non occlusive thrombi. Such thrombi are unlikely to cause a critical obstruction of the venous outflow and therefore to produce a positive IPG.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huilan Yao ◽  
Grant Wu ◽  
Subhasree Das ◽  
Crystal MacKenzie ◽  
Hua Gao ◽  
...  

AbstractHere we report on the development of a sensitive and cost-effective method to longitudinally trackESR1andPIK3CAmutations from cfDNA in patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) using a streamlined and de-centralized workflow. Hotspot mutations inESR1have been shown to cause resistance to aromatase inhibitor–based and anti-estrogenic therapies, whilePIK3CAmutations have high prevalence in MBC. As a result, their utility as circulating biomarkers to predict or monitor response in the clinical development of investigational compounds has been the focus of many studies. Six regions inESR1andPIK3CAgenes containing 20 hotspot mutations were pre-amplified, followed by optimized singleplex ddPCR assays to detect allele frequencies of individual mutations. Without pre-amplification, the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of linearity (LOL) of individual ddPCR assays were at 0.05-0.1% and 0.25% level, respectively. With pre-amplification, the LOD and LOL were slightly elevated at 0.1-0.25% and 0.25-0.5% levels, respectively. High concordance was achieved to the BEAMing assay (Sysmex Inostics) for mutation positive assays (r=0.98, P<0.0001). In conclusion, coupling pre-amplification and ddPCR assays allowed us for the detection of up to 20 hot spot mutations inESR1andPIK3CAwith high sensitivity and reproducibility.


1999 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARIA FREDRIKSSON-AHOMAA ◽  
SEBASTIAN HIELM ◽  
HANNU KORKEALA

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to determine the prevalence of yadA-positive Yersinia enterocolitica in pig tongues and minced meat at the retail level in Finland and to confirm the yadA-positive Y. enterocolitica isolates recovered from the same samples using the conventional culture method. A total of 51 pig tongues purchased at 12 retail outlets and 255 minced meat samples purchased at 40 retail outlets in the Helsinki area were studied. The prevalence of Y. enterocolitica carrying the yadA gene was 92% in pig tongues and 25% in minced meat using PCR and 78% in tongues and 2% in minced meat with the culture method. The prevalence of yadA-positive tongues was higher (98%) when both PCR- and culture-positive results were included because Y. enterocolitica carrying the yadA gene could also be isolated in three PCR-negative tongue samples. In the minced meat samples, all PCR-negative samples were also culture-negative. With the culture method, 66 of 80 yadA-positive isolates in 38 tongues and all yadA-positive isolates (4) in four minced meat samples were recovered after selective enrichment. A total of 92 isolates of Y. enterocolitica bioserotype 4/O:3 in tongues and 5 isolates in minced meat were found, of which 13% in tongues and 20% in minced meat did not carry the yadA gene.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Rauer ◽  
Isabella Pagano ◽  
Miguel Mas-Hesse ◽  
Conny Aerts ◽  
Magali Deleuil ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;PLATO is an ESA mission dedicated to the study of exoplanets and stars, with a planned launch date in 2026. By performing photometric monitoring of about 250 000 bright stars (m&lt;sub&gt;V&lt;/sub&gt; &lt; 13), PLATO will be able to discover and characterise hundreds of exoplanets, including small planets orbiting up to the habitable zone of solar-like stars. PLATO&amp;#8217;s precision will also allow for a precise characterisation of the host stars through asteroseismology. These objectives require both a wide field of view and high sensitivity, which are achieved with a payload comprising 24 cameras with partially overlapping fields of view. They are complemented by 2 more cameras optimised for brighter stars that will also be used as fine guidance sensor. The PLATO development phase started after the mission adoption in July 2017. The Mission Preliminary Design Review (PDR) was declared successful in October 2020. The implementation and delivery to ESA of the flight model CCDs for all cameras (4 CCDs per camera) has been completed. Currently the Structural Thermal Model (STM) of the payload optical bench is being manufactured, while the STM of a single camera has already been successfully tested. In parallel, a first engineering model of a complete, fully functional camera is being integrated, to verify its performance under operational conditions, and the qualification models of the different payload units are being built.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;We will present the status of the PLATO payload implementation in the context of the satellite development. In particular, we will describe the payload manufacturing, integration, and tests that will be reviewed at the Critical Milestone in the second half of 2021. We will also summarise the progress made in the science preparation activities, as well as on the ground segment.&lt;/p&gt;


1990 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Landy ◽  
A L Schneyer ◽  
R W Whitcomb ◽  
W F Crowley

Abstract Measurement of the urinary excretion of lutropin (LH) and follitropin (FSH) and their common free alpha subunit (FAS) assists in monitoring the maturation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis and in understanding the physiology of the pituitary glycoprotein hormones. Here we describe sensitive, specific polyclonal radioimmunoassays for LH and FSH and a monoclonal radioimmunoassay for FAS for use with urine--assays unperturbed by alterations in urinary pH or osmolarity within the broad physiological range encountered in urine. Concordance between LH, FSH, and FAS concentrations in extracted and unextracted urine samples was high. Linearity and parallelism with the standard curves was observed with addition of 25 to 200 microL of unextracted urine. No effect on glycoprotein concentration was seen after as many as 10 freeze-thaw cycles. The need for extraction was further obviated by the high sensitivity of each assay, reflected by minimum detectable doses well below the concentrations encountered in patients' samples. Thus we have measured gonadotropins in unextracted urine as precisely as in extracted urine. We also have demonstrated an equally versatile assay for urinary alpha subunit, using a monoclonal antibody of high specificity for this monomer in its free, uncombined form. These radioimmunoassays complement assays of gonadotropins and free alpha subunit in serum and will allow longitudinal investigations otherwise limited by the constraints of the patient's blood volume.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 337-349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Taiwo Aruleba ◽  
Tayo Alex Adekiya ◽  
Babatunji Emmanuel Oyinloye ◽  
Priscilla Masamba ◽  
Londiwe Simphiwe Mbatha ◽  
...  

Today schistosomiasis, caused mainly by the three major schistosome species (S. mansoni, S. haematobium and S. japonicum), has for many decades and still continues to be on a rapid and swift rise globally, claiming thousands of lives every year and leaving 800 million people at the risk of infection. Due to the high prevalence of this disease and the steady increase in the infection rates, praziquantel (PZQ) remains the only effective drug against this acute disease although it has no effect on the juvenile schistosome parasite. However, no significant approaches have been made in recent years in the discovery of new or alternative drugs and unfortunately, resistance to this drug has been reported in some parts of the world. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a new drug for this debilitating disease. In this review, a brief history of past, present, and new promising anti-schistosomal drugs is presented.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 820
Author(s):  
Dae Gyu Kim ◽  
Thi Thu Ha Nguyen ◽  
Nam Hoon Kwon ◽  
Junsik Sung ◽  
Semi Lim ◽  
...  

AIMP2-DX2, an exon 2-deleted splice variant of AIMP2 (aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase-interacting multifunctional protein 2), is highly expressed in lung cancer and involved in tumor progression in vivo. Oncogenic function of AIMP2-DX2 and its correlation with poor prognosis of cancer patients have been well established; however, the application of this potentially important biomarker to cancer research and diagnosis has been hampered by a lack of antibodies specific for the splice variant, possibly due to the poor immunogenicity and/or stability of AIMP2-DX2. In this study a monoclonal antibody, H5, that specifically recognizes AIMP2-DX2 and its isoforms was generated via rabbit immunization and phage display techniques, using a short peptide corresponding to the exon 1/3 junction sequence as an antigen. Furthermore, based on mutagenesis, limited cleavage, and mass spectrometry studies, it is also suggested that the endogenous isoform of AIMP2-DX2 recognized by H5 is produced by proteolytic cleavage of 33 amino acids from N-terminus and is capable of inducing cell proliferation similarly to the uncleaved protein. H5 monoclonal antibody is applicable to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunoblot, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry, and expected to be a valuable tool for detecting AIMP2-DX2 with high sensitivity and specificity for research and diagnostic purposes.


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