Search results for " specificity"
showing 10 items of 2170 documents
The Impact of Lactobacillus casei on the Composition of the Cecal Microbiota and Innate Immune System Is Strain Specific
2016
The probiotic function to impact human health is thought to be related to their ability to alter the composition of the gut microbiota and modulate the human innate immune system. The ability to function as a probiotic is believed to be strain specific. Strains of Lactobacillus casei are commonly utilized as probiotics that when consumed alter the composition of the gut microbiota and modulate the host immune response. L. casei strains are known to differ significantly in gene content. The objective of this study was to investigate seven different L. casei strains for their ability to alter the murine gut microbiota and modulate the murine immune system. C57BL/6 mice were fed L. casei strai…
Adipocyte cannabinoid receptor CB1 regulates energy homeostasis and alternatively activated macrophages.
2017
Dysregulated adipocyte physiology leads to imbalanced energy storage, obesity, and associated diseases, imposing a costly burden on current health care. Cannabinoid receptor type-1 (CB1) plays a crucial role in controlling energy metabolism through central and peripheral mechanisms. In this work, adipocyte-specific inducible deletion of the CB1 gene (Ati-CB1- KO) was sufficient to protect adult mice from diet-induced obesity and associated metabolic alterations and to reverse the phenotype in already obese mice. Compared with controls, Ati-CB1-KO mice showed decreased body weight, reduced total adiposity, improved insulin sensitivity, enhanced energy expenditure, and fat depot-specific cell…
Performance evaluation of a newly developed molecular assay for the accurate diagnosis of gastroenteritis associated with norovirus of genogroup II
2018
The performance of a newly proposed fully automated cassette-based sample-to-results solution for norovirus (NoV) detection, InGenius Norovirus ELITe MGB®, was evaluated. A total of 120 selected archival stool samples from children hospitalized for acute gastroenteritis were used to compare the results to a reference real-time RT-PCR. The InGenius NoV assay showed optimal diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 95.7%) and was able to correctly detect the entire wide panel of epidemiologically relevant genotypes tested. These preliminary results suggest that the InGenius NoV assay can be recommended as a valuable method for accurate diagnosis of NoV GII infection in epidemic and…
Hemisphere-dependent endocannabinoid system activity in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of the Flinders Sensitive Line rodent model of depression
2019
Altered endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling is suggested as an important contributor to the pathophysiology of depression. To further elucidate this, we conducted a study using a genetic rat model of depression, the Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL), and their controls, the Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats. Plasma, right and left prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus were isolated from FSL and FRL rats. We analyzed each region for the eCB anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) levels by liquid chromatography/multiple reaction monitoring (LC/MRM), mRNA and protein levels of the cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R), fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacyl glycerol lipase (MAGL) by rea…
Inference of SARS-CoV-2 spike-binding neutralizing antibody titers in sera from hospitalized COVID-19 patients by using commercial enzyme and chemilu…
2021
medRxiv: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.07.20188151
Determinants of the Quality of Warfarin Control after Venous Thromboembolism and Validation of the SAMe-TT2-R2 Score: An Analysis of Hokusai-VTE.
2019
Background Time in therapeutic range (TTR) measures the quality of vitamin K antagonist (VKA) anticoagulation. In patients with atrial fibrillation, the dichotomized SAMe-TT2-R2 score (≥2 vs. < 2 points) can predict if adequate TTR is unlikely to be achieved. Aims We validated the SAMe-TT2-R2 score in patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) randomized to the warfarin arm of the Hokusai-VTE trial. Patients and Methods A total of 3,874 patients were included in the primary analysis (day 31–180 from randomization). The efficacy and safety outcomes were symptomatic recurrent VTE and major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding. Results The rates of recurrent VTE and bleeding events we…
IL-34–Dependent Intrarenal and Systemic Mechanisms Promote Lupus Nephritis in MRL-Faslpr Mice
2019
Background In people with SLE and in the MRL- Fas lpr lupus mouse model, macrophages and autoantibodies are central to lupus nephritis. IL-34 mediates macrophage survival and proliferation, is expressed by tubular epithelial cells (TECs), and binds to the cFMS receptor on macrophages and to a newly identified second receptor, PTPRZ. Methods To investigate whether IL-34–dependent intrarenal and systemic mechanisms promote lupus nephritis, we compared lupus nephritis and systemic illness in MRL- Fas lpr mice expressing IL-34 and IL-34 knockout (KO) MRL- Fas lpr mice. We also assessed expression of IL-34 and the cFMS and PTPRZ receptors in patients with lupus nephritis. Results Intrarenal IL-3…
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 …
Evaluation of a novel chromogenic medium for Candida spp. identification and comparison with CHROMagar™ Candida for the detection of Candida auris in…
2020
Abstract A shift to Candida non-albicans infections has been noted during the last years, and the emergence of multi-resistant Candida auris has complicated their management. The aim of this study was first to compare the performance of the novel chromogenic medium CHROMagar™ Candida Plus (CHROMagar, France) with CHROMagar™ Candida (Becton Dickinson, Germany) for the presumptive identification of Candida species; and then, to evaluate its utility in the detection of C. auris in surveillance samples. CHROMagar™ Candida Plus showed a good performance compared with the reference medium CHROMagar™ Candida. Sensitivity and specificity were 100% in both media for tested species at 48 h of incubat…
Validate or falsify: Lessons learned from a microscopy method claimed to be useful for detecting Borrelia and Babesia organisms in human blood.
2016
A modified microscopy protocol (the LM-method) was used to demonstrate what was interpreted as Borrelia spirochetes and later also Babesia sp., in peripheral blood from patients. The method gained much publicity, but was not validated prior to publication, which became the purpose of this study using appropriate scientific methodology, including a control group.Blood from 21 patients previously interpreted as positive for Borrelia and/or Babesia infection by the LM-method and 41 healthy controls without known history of tick bite were collected, blinded and analysed for these pathogens by microscopy in two laboratories by the LM-method and conventional method, respectively, by PCR methods i…