Search results for " POLYMER"
showing 10 items of 3533 documents
The diagnosis of chronic endometritis in infertile asymptomatic women: a comparative study of histology, microbial cultures, hysteroscopy, and molecu…
2017
Background Chronic endometritis is a persistent inflammation of the endometrial mucosa caused by bacterial pathogens such as Enterobacteriaceae, Enterococcus, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Mycoplasma, and Ureaplasma. Although chronic endometritis can be asymptomatic, it is found in up to 40% of infertile patients and is responsible for repeated implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage. Diagnosis of chronic endometritis is based on hysteroscopy of the uterine cavity, endometrial biopsy with plasma cells being identified histologically, while specific treatment is determined based on microbial culture. However, not all microorganisms implicated are easily or readily culturable needing …
Factors influencing cytomegalovirus DNA load measurements in whole blood and plasma specimens from allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant reci…
2019
We assessed the impact of several parameters, including the nature of the episode of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNAemia, the use of preemptive antiviral therapy, and the blood cell content in CMV DNA loads measured in whole blood (WB) and plasma (PL). CMV DNA load was quantified in 245 paired specimens collected within 43 postengraftment episodes of CMV DNAemia by using the CMV RealTime CMV PCR (Abbott Molecular). Concordant categorical results were obtained for 78.4% of paired specimens (Kappa index, 0.385; P = 0.001). Overall, CMV DNA loads in PL were higher than those in WB (mean bias, +0.115 log IU/mL) in both initial and recurrent episodes; this was so in post-antiviral treatment but not in…
Serological and Molecular Evidence of Bartonella henselae in Stray Cats from Southern Italy
2021
Bartonella henselae is a slow growing and facultative intracellular pathogen mainly transmitted by arthropod vectors adapted to domestic and wild mammalian reservoir hosts. Since cats are the major source of the B. henselae infection, this study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence and the DNA presence in randomly sampled stray cats. Blood samples of 429 cats were collected from shelter of Palermo (Southern Italy) and sera and whole blood were analyzed for the presence of antibodies against B. henselae by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), respectively. Two hundred and three sera (47.3%) were positive to IFA and 148 blood samples (34.5%…
Comparison of the artus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) PCR kit and the Abbott RealTime EBV assay for measuring plasma EBV DNA loads in allogeneic stem cell…
2017
The ability of the artus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) PCR kit and the Abbott RealTime EBV PCR assay to detect and quantify plasma EBV DNAemia was compared. The agreement between these assays was 95.8%. The EBV DNA loads measured by the two assays significantly correlated (P=< 0.0001).
Assessment of prevalence and load of torquetenovirus viraemia in a large cohort of healthy blood donors.
2020
OBJECTIVES: Torquetenovirus (TTV) is an emerging marker of functional immune competence with the potential to predict transplant-related adverse events. A large-scale epidemiological study was performed to understand how basal values vary in healthy individuals according to age and gender.; METHODS: We tested plasma from 1017 healthy blood donors aged 18-69years. The presence and load of TTV were determined by a real-time PCR assay. A sub-cohort of 384 donors was tested for anti-cytomegalovirus IgG antibodies, and 100 participants were also tested for TTV viraemia on a paired whole blood sample.; RESULTS: The overall prevalence of TTV was 65% (657/1017) with a mean (±SD) growth of 5±4% ever…
The clinical impact of PCR‐based point‐of‐care diagnostic in respiratory tract infections in children
2020
Abstract Background Children are commonly affected by respiratory tract infections. Based on clinical symptoms, laboratory evaluation, and imaging, the causative pathogen often cannot be delineated. Point‐of‐care‐testing systems that provide an opportunity for fast detection of common viruses and some bacteria can therefore influence treatment's options. We aimed to examine whether the Biofire® FilmArray® has an effect on antibiotic treatment, duration of antibiotic therapy, and length of hospital stay within a pediatric cohort. Methods We included children who were admitted to inpatient treatment with an acute respiratory tract infection from 02/2017 to 04/2018 using the FA respiratory pan…
Real-time polymerase chain reaction detection of Lichtheimia species in bandages associated with cutaneous mucormycosis in burn patients
2018
Summary Background Cutaneous mucormycoses, mainly due to Lichtheimia (Absidia), have occurred on several occasions in the Burn Unit of the University Hospital of Lille, France. Aim To investigate the potential vector role of non-sterile bandages used to hold in place sterile gauze used for wound dressing. Methods Mycological analysis by conventional culture, Mucorales real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and Lichtheimia species-specific qPCR were performed on eight crepe and six elasticized bandages that were sampled on two independent occasions in March 2014 and July 2016. Characteristics of the seven Lichtheimia mucormycoses which occurred in burn patients between November 2013 and…
Design and Performance Testing of a DNA Extraction Assay for Sensitive and Reliable Quantification of Acetic Acid Bacteria Directly in Red Wine Using…
2016
International audience; Although strategies exist to prevent AAB contamination, the increased interest for wines with low sulfite addition leads to greater AAB spoilage. Hence, there is a real need for a rapid, specific, sensitive, and reliable method for detecting these spoilage bacteria. All these requirements are met by real time Polymerase Chain Reaction (or quantitative PCR; qPCR). Here, we compare existing methods of isolating DNA and their adaptation to a red wine matrix. Two different protocols for isolating DNA and three PCR mix compositions were tested to select the best method. The addition of insoluble polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) at 1% (v/v) during DNA extraction using a pro…
Invasive Species as Hosts of Zoonotic Infections: The Case of American Mink (Neovison vison) and Leishmania infantum
2021
Leishmania infantum produces an endemic disease in the Mediterranean Basin that affects humans and domestic and wild mammals, which can act as reservoir or minor host. In this study, we analyzed the presence of the parasite in wild American minks, an invasive species in Spain. We screened for L. infantum DNA by PCR using five primer pairs: Two targeting kinetoplast DNA (kDNA), and the rest targeting the ITS1 region, the small subunit of ribosomal RNA (SSU) and a repetitive sequence (Repeat region). The detection limit was determined for each method using a strain of L. infantum and a bone marrow sample from an infected dog. PCR approaches employing the Repeat region and kDNA (RV1/RV2 primer…
Recombinant GII.P16 genotype challenges RT-PCR-based typing in region A of norovirus genome
2021
Abstract Objectives In latest years GII.4[P16] and GII.2[P16] noroviruses have become predominant in some temporal/geographical settings. In parallel with the emergence of the GII.P16 polymerase type, norovirus surveillance activity in Italy experienced increasing difficulties in generating sequence data on the RNA polymerase genomic region A, using the widely adopted JV12A/JV13B primer set. Two sets of modified primers (Deg1 and Deg2) were tested in order to improve amplification and typing of the polymerase gene. Methods Amplification and typing performance of region A primers was assessed in RT-PCR on 452 GII norovirus positive samples obtained from 2194 stool samples collected in 2016–2…