scholarly journals Comparison of Four Streptococcus pneumoniae Urinary Antigen Tests Using Automated Readers

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 827
Author(s):  
Alicia Yoke Wei Wong ◽  
Alexander Tony Arvind Johnsson ◽  
Karolina Ininbergs ◽  
Simon Athlin ◽  
Volkan Özenci
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
South Korea ◽  
Excellent Agreement ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Urinary Antigen ◽  
Clinical Routine ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Antigen Tests ◽  
High Level ◽  
Level Of Agreement

Streptococcus pneumoniae urinary antigen tests (UATs) may be interpreted using automatic readers to potentially automate sample incubation and provide standardized results reading. Here, we evaluated four UATs the BinaxNOW S. pneumoniae Antigen Card (Abbott, Chicago, USA), ImmuView S. pneumoniae and Legionella (SSI Diagnostica, Hillerød, Denmark), STANDARD F S. pneumoniae Ag FIA (SD Biosensor, Gyeonggi, South Korea), and Sofia S. pneumoniae FIA (Quidel Corporation, San Diego, USA) with their respective benchtop readers for their ability to detect S. pneumoniae urinary antigen. We found that these assays had a sensitivity of 76.9–86.5%, and specificity of 84.2–89.7%, with no significant difference found among the four UATs. The assays had a high level of agreement with each other, with 84.5% of samples testing consistently across all four assays. The automatically and visually read test results from the two immunochromatographic assays, BinaxNOW and ImmuView, were compared and showed excellent agreement between the two types of reading. Immunofluorescent-based assays, Sofia and STANDARD F, had significantly less time to detect compared to the two immunochromatographic assays due to having less assay setup procedures and shorter sample incubation times. In conclusion, the four UATs performed similarly in the detection of S. pneumoniae urinary antigen, and readers can bring increased flexibility to running UATs in the clinical routine.

scholarly journals Sleeve Gastrectomy vs. Fundus Resection in Bariatric Surgery (Animal Study)

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alimohammad Bananzadeh ◽  
Seyed Vahid Hosseini ◽  
Hajar Khazraei ◽  
Mohammad Mehdi Lashkarizadeh ◽  
Leila Ghahramani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bariatric Surgery ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Sleeve Gastrectomy ◽  
Body Weight Loss ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Total Ghrelin ◽  
The Difference ◽  
High Level

Background: Bariatric surgery has resulted in body weight loss, which claimed by surgery removal specific parts of the stomach with enzyme or sleeve gastrectomy. Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine weight loss and endocrine changes by 12-week fundus resection and sleeve gastrectomy in rabbits. Methods: Twenty-one rabbits, weighing 2.5 - 3.5 kg, were divided into three groups (n = 7): sleeve gastrectomy, experimental fundus resection, and sham group. The weight of rabbits and total ghrelin and leptin levels in the plasma before and after surgery were measured in 12 weeks. Statistical analyses were performed using the Kruskal-Walis test for comparison of the means between the groups, and the difference after months in one group was assayed by Friedman test. Results: The results showed sleeve gastrectomy had a significant weight loss after one month when compared to fundus resection and sham-operated controls (P = 0.008). There was no significant difference in the ghrelin levels after these surgeries, but leptin levels decreased significantly after the fundectomy (P = 0.025). Conclusions: Sleeve gastrectomy is more efficient than the fundus resection in weight loss. It could be suggested as a new option in metabolic disorders due to the high level of leptin.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Sofia S. pneumoniae FIA for Detection of Pneumococcal Antigen in Patients with Bloodstream Infection

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Olofsson ◽  
Volkan Özenci ◽  
Simon Athlin
Keyword(s):  
Bloodstream Infection ◽  
Legionella Pneumophila ◽  
Pneumococcal Infection ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Urinary Antigen ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pneumococcal Antigen ◽  
Automatic Reading ◽  
Antigen Tests ◽  
Test Result

ABSTRACT The usefulness of pneumococcal urinary antigen tests (UATs) in severe pneumococcal infection relies heavily on the performance in bacteremic patients. Fluorescence technology and automatic reading of test results may improve UAT performance. We evaluated the automatically read Sofia S. pneumoniae FIA for diagnosing pneumococcal bloodstream infection (BSI) in hospitalized adult patients. First, the Sofia FIA was evaluated on 97 patients with pneumococcal (n = 47) and nonpneumococcal (n = 50) BSI and compared with results by the visually read BinaxNOW S. pneumoniae immunochromatographic test (ICT) and ImmuView S. pneumoniae and Legionella pneumophila ICT. In four cases (4.1%), the Sofia FIA showed invalid test results, three of which showed invalid results by the ImmuView ICT previously. Based on 93 valid cases, the Sofia FIA showed similar sensitivity (for both comparisons: 68% versus 62%; P = 0.45) and specificity (for both comparisons: 91% versus 93%; P = 1.00) as the visually read UATs. Second, the Sofia FIA was prospectively evaluated on 82 consecutive nonfrozen urine samples, detecting pneumococcal antigen in 10 of 14 (sensitivity, 71%) pneumococcal BSI patients, similarly to the visually and automatically read BinaxNOW ICT (both 12 of 14; sensitivity, 86%; P = 0.50). Of five nonpneumococcal BSI cases, the Sofia FIA showed an invalid test result in one case, but no positive UAT results were obtained. Thus, the sensitivity and specificity of the Sofia FIA were similar to the performance rates of other UATs in patients with BSI, but invalid test results are of concern for the usefulness in pneumococcal BSI.

scholarly journals Seroprevalence of West Nile and Usutu viruses in military working horses and dogs, Morocco, 2012: dog as an alternative WNV sentinel species?

2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (9) ◽  
pp. 1857-1864 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. DURAND ◽  
H. HASKOURI ◽  
S. LOWENSKI ◽  
N. VACHIERY ◽  
C. BECK ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Infection ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Test Results ◽  
West Nile Fever ◽  
West Nile ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Working Dogs ◽  
Serological Surveillance ◽  
High Level ◽  
Military Working Dogs

SUMMARYA serosurvey of 349 military working horses and 231 military working dogs was conducted in ten sites in Morocco in 2012. This survey revealed a high level of exposure of these animals to flaviviruses: seroprevalence rates of 60% in horses and of 62% in dogs were observed using a competitive West Nile virus (WNV) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). Seroneutralization test results showed that the majority of cELISA-positive results were due to exposure to WNV. Further assays conducted in vaccinated horses with a DIVA (Differentiating Infected from Vaccinated Animals) test indicated that anti-WNV antibodies had been stimulated through WNV natural infection. Moreover, in both species, seroneutralization tests suggested an exposure to Usutu virus (USUV). Data analysis did not show any significant difference of cELISA seropositivity risk between horses and dogs. Dogs may thus represent an interesting alternative to equines for the serological surveillance of WNV or USUV circulation, especially in areas where equine vaccination precludes passive surveillance (based on the detection of West Nile fever cases) in horses.

scholarly journals Concordance between PCR-based extraction-free saliva and nasopharyngeal swabs for SARS-CoV-2 testing

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Chiara De Santi ◽  
Benson Jacob ◽  
Patricia Kroich ◽  
Sean Doyle ◽  
Rebecca Ward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saliva Sample ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Nasopharyngeal Swab ◽  
Acid Extraction ◽  
Less Invasive ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Frequent Testing ◽  
High Level ◽  
University Settings ◽  
Level Of Agreement

Introduction: Saliva represents a less invasive alternative to nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection. SalivaDirect is a nucleic acid extraction-free method for detecting SARS-CoV2 in saliva specimens. Studies evaluating the concordance of gold standard NPS and newly developed SalivaDirect protocols are limited. The aim of our study was to assess SalivaDirect as an alternative method for COVID-19 testing. Methods: Matching NPS and saliva samples were analysed from a cohort of symptomatic (n=127) and asymptomatic (n=181) participants recruited from hospital and university settings, respectively. RNA was extracted from NPS while saliva samples were subjected to the SalivaDirect protocol before RT-qPCR analysis. The presence of SARS-Cov-2 was assessed using RdRp and N1 gene targets in NPS and saliva, respectively. Results: Overall we observed 94.3% sensitivity (95% CI 87.2-97.5%), and 95.9% specificity (95% CI 92.4-97.8%) in saliva when compared to matching NPS samples. Analysis of concordance demonstrated 95.5% accuracy overall for the saliva test relative to NPS, and a very high level of agreement (κ coefficient = 0.889, 95% CI 0.833–0.946) between the two sets of specimens. Fourteen of 308 samples were discordant, all from symptomatic patients. Ct values were >30 in 13/14 and >35 in 6/14 samples. No significant difference was found in the Ct values of matching NPS and saliva sample (p=0.860). A highly significant correlation (r = 0.475, p<0.0001) was also found between the Ct values of the concordant positive saliva and NPS specimens. Conclusions: Use of saliva processed according to the SalivaDirect protocol represents a valid method to detect SARS-CoV-2. Accurate and less invasive saliva screening is an attractive alternative to current testing methods based on NPS and would afford greater capacity to test asymptomatic populations especially in the context of frequent testing.

scholarly journals Incidence and Characteristics of Co-infection and Secondary Infection in Patients with COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingyi Guo ◽  
Jiuxin Qu ◽  
Lingling Cheng ◽  
Xiaohe Li ◽  
Ningjing Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Streptococcus Pneumoniae ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Secondary Infection ◽  
Observational Cohort Study ◽  
Urine Specimen ◽  
Urinary Antigen ◽  
Observational Cohort ◽  
Influenza A Virus Infection ◽  
Antigen Tests ◽  
Microbiological Data

ABSTRACTObjectiveThe etiology and epidemiology of co-infection and secondary infection in COVID-19 patients remain unknown. The study aims to investigate the occurrence and characteristics of co-infection and secondary infection in COVID-19 patients, mainly focusing on Streptococcus pneumoniae co-infections.MethodsThis study was a prospective, observational cohort study of the inpatients diagnosed with COVID-19 in two designated hospitals in south China enrolled between Jan 11 and Feb 22, 2020. The urine specimen was collected on admission and applied for pneumococcal urinary antigen tests (PUATs). Demographic, clinical and microbiological data of patients were recorded simultaneously.ResultA total of 146 patients with a confirm diagnosis of COVID-19 at the median age of 50.0 years (IQR 36.0-61.0) were enrolled, in which, 16 (11.0%) were classified as severe cases and 130 (89.0%) as non-severe cases. Of the enrolled patients, only 3 (2.1%) were considered to present the co-infection, in which 1 was co-infected with S.pneumoniae, 1 with B. Ovatus infection and the other one with Influenza A virus infection. Secondary infection occurred in 16 patients, with S. maltophilia as the most commonly isolated pathogen (43.8%), followed by P. aeruginosa (25.0%), E. aerogenes (25.0%), C. parapsilosis (25.0%) and A. fumigates (18.8%).ConclusionPatients with confirmed COVID-19 were rarely co-infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae or other pathogens, indicating that the application of antibiotics against CAP on admission may not be necessary in the treatment of COVID-19 cases.

A Comparison of Student and Instructor Preferences for Design and Pedagogy Features in Postsecondary Online Courses

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolin C. Hu ◽  
Edward L. Meyen
Keyword(s):  
Social Networking ◽  
Research University ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Secondary Level ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
High Level ◽  
Level Of Agreement

This study investigates the preferences of instructors and students for design and pedagogy features of online instruction at the post-secondary level. Participants included 60 instructors and 200 students at a comprehensive research university. Correlation coefficients of .95 on the design item rankings and .87 on the pedagogy item rankings were found between instructors and students. An independent sample T-test was conducted, resulting in a finding of significant difference between the preferences of instructors and students on 19 of 63 features. Additional findings included the high level of agreement on design and pedagogy features among all students as a group and subgroups (e.g., students earning regular university credit and those pursuing professional development goals.) An interesting finding was the concurrence in the low preferences by instructors and students. Both groups rated low those features pertaining to social networking and collaboration.

scholarly journals Personal And Professional Characteristics Of A Good Muslim Doctor: Perception Of Newly Graduated Doctors

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Azmi AN ◽  
Jamilah J ◽  
Dzulkhairi MR ◽  
Ramli S ◽  
Ariff O ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Curriculum ◽  
Personal Characteristic ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Professional Characteristics ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Medical Undergraduates ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire ◽  
Islamic Values ◽  
Level Of Agreement

Introduction: The Medical Faculty of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) aims to produce good Muslim doctors (GMD) who are able to practise medicine that is integrated with Islamic values. Islamic courses and Medical Ethics are integrated into the curriculum in its effort to provide adequate Islamic knowledge and nurturing professionalism as a process of personal and professional development (PPD) within the framework of Islamic teaching. The objective of the study was to evaluate the perception of graduates and students of characteristics of a GMD. Method: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the participants. The respondents were asked to rate their level of agreement or disagreement on the statements that represent the characteristics of a GMD. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using SPSS version 18.0. The mean, median and inter quartile ranges of the characteristics were determined and differences between the groups were analysed using Mann-Whitney U test. Results: Results showed significant difference between gender for the item “Conscious of professional ethics” (p=0.021). Significant differences were seen in the median scores between the graduates and the final year students in four out of six items for personal characteristic. Conclusion: Islamic input in the medical curriculum and the teaching of professionalism has an impact on graduate perception of characteristics of a GMD. Further improvement in the teaching of professionalism among undergraduates is necessary in order to promote greater impact on the understanding and internalization of characteristics of a GMD. The Islamic input in the medical curriculum can thus be regarded as the blueprint for PPD of medical undergraduates to become a GMD.

A Comparison of Student and Instructor Preferences for Design and Pedagogy Features in Postsecondary Online Courses

2013 ◽  
pp. 213-229
Author(s):  
Xiaolin C. Hu ◽  
Edward L. Meyen
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Research University ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
High Level ◽  
Level Of Agreement

This study investigates the preferences of instructors and students for design and pedagogy features of online instruction at the post-secondary level. Participants included 60 instructors and 200 students at a comprehensive research university. Correlation coefficients of .95 on the design item rankings and .87 on the pedagogy item rankings were found between instructors and students. An independent sample T-test was conducted, resulting in a finding of significant difference between the preferences of instructors and students on 19 of 63 features. Additional findings included the high level of agreement on design and pedagogy features among all students as a group and subgroups (e.g., students earning regular university credit and those pursuing professional development goals.) An interesting finding was the concurrence in the low preferences by instructors and students. Both groups rated low those features pertaining to social networking and collaboration.

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