Frequency: Quarterly E- ISSN: 2320-8503 P- ISSN: Awaited Abstracted/ Indexed in: Ulrich's International Periodical Directory, Google Scholar, SCIRUS, getCITED, EBSCO Information Services
Quarterly published in print and online "Inventi Impact: Infectious Diseases & Immunology (Formerly Inventi Impact: Infection)" publishes high quality unpublished as well as high impact pre-published research and reviews catering to the needs of researchers and professionals. This journal focuses on etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases in outpatient and inpatient settings. Special emphasis is laid on reporting of new resistances and abuses of anti-infective agents.
Immunodiagnostics is the use of immunoassays for diagnostic purposes. The immunoassay utilizes the highly specific antigen-antibody interaction as the basis of the detection. The term diagnosis usually implies disease diagnosis; however, advances in the field of immunoassays have made them extensively applicable to a variety of fields other than the clinical. Immunodiagnostics are now mainstays in fields like drug testing, assessment of environmental pollutants, food safety testing, forensic medicine, external quality assurance and proficiency testing. The popularity of immunodiagnostic approach stems from their relative simplicity, accuracy, test turn-around time and portability; thus combining sensitivity, specificity and ease of use. The immunoassays have been the method of choice for detection of relatively small concentration of analytes in complex biological fluids/other analytical samples for the last five decades. The scientists world over are trying to develop new generations of immunoassays that focuses on reducing the assay turnover time and reducing the steps and instrumental requirements for result interpretation....
Background: A forecast can be defined as an endeavor to quantitatively estimate a future event or probabilities\r\nassigned to a future occurrence. Forecasting stochastic processes such as epidemics is challenging since there are\r\nseveral biological, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence the number of cases observed at each point\r\nduring an epidemic. However, accurate forecasts of epidemics would impact timely and effective implementation of\r\npublic health interventions. In this study, we introduce a Dirichlet process (DP) model for classifying and forecasting\r\ninfluenza epidemic curves.\r\nMethods: The DP model is a nonparametric Bayesian approach that enables the matching of current influenza\r\nactivity to simulated and historical patterns, identifies epidemic curves different from those observed in the past and\r\nenables prediction of the expected epidemic peak time. The method was validated using simulated influenza\r\nepidemics from an individual-based model and the accuracy was compared to that of the tree-based classification\r\ntechnique, Random Forest (RF), which has been shown to achieve high accuracy in the early prediction of epidemic\r\ncurves using a classification approach. We also applied the method to forecasting influenza outbreaks in the United\r\nStates from 1997ââ?¬â??2013 using influenza-like illness (ILI) data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).\r\nResults: We made the following observations. First, the DP model performed as well as RF in identifying several of the\r\nsimulated epidemics. Second, the DP model correctly forecasted the peak time several days in advance for most of\r\nthe simulated epidemics. Third, the accuracy of identifying epidemics different from those already observed improved\r\nwith additional data, as expected. Fourth, both methods correctly classified epidemics with higher reproduction\r\nnumbers (R) with a higher accuracy compared to epidemics with lower R values. Lastly, in the classification of seasonal\r\ninfluenza epidemics based on ILI data from the CDC, the methodsââ?¬â?¢ performance was comparable.\r\nConclusions: Although RF requires less computational time compared to the DP model, the algorithm is fully\r\nsupervised implying that epidemic curves different from those previously observed will always be misclassified. In\r\ncontrast, the DP model can be unsupervised, semi-supervised or fully supervised. Since both methods have their\r\nrelative merits, an approach that uses both RF and the DP model could be beneficial....
Background: To determine the dynamic SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody levels induced by 3 doses of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine, CoronaVac. An observational, prospective cohort study was performed with 93 healthy healthcare workers from a tertiary hospital in Nanjing, China. Serum SARS-CoV-2 specific IgM, IgG, and neutralizing antibodies (NAb) were measured at different time points among participants who received 3 doses of inactivated COVID-19 vaccine. Results: 91.3% (85/93) and 100% (72/72) participants showed positive both for SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG and NAb after 2-dose CoronaVac and after 3-dose CoronaVac, respectively. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG responses reached 91.21 (55.66–152.06) AU/mL, and surrogate NAb was 47.60 (25.96–100.81) IU/mL on day 14 after the second dose. Anti- SARS-CoV-2 IgG responses reached 218.29 (167.53–292.16) AU/mL and surrogate NAb was 445.54 (171.54–810.90) IU/ mL on day 14 after the third dose. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 specific surrogate neutralizing antibody titers were highly correlated with serum neutralization activities against Ancestral, Omicron, and Delta strains. Moreover, significantly higher SARS-CoV-2 IgG responses, but not NAb responses, were found in individuals with breakthrough infection when compared to that of 3-dose CoronaVac recipients. Conclusions: CoronaVac elicited robust SARS-CoV-2 specific humoral responses. Surrogate NAb assay might substitute for pseudovirus neutralization assay. Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses induced by vaccination would provide important guidance for the optimization of COVID-19 vaccines....
Background: As reported by the World Health Organization, a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was identified as the\ncausative virus of Wuhan pneumonia of unknown etiology by Chinese authorities on 7 January, 2020. The virus was\nnamed as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by International Committee on Taxonomy\nof Viruses on 11 February, 2020. This study aimed to develop a mathematical model for calculating the\ntransmissibility of the virus.\nMethods: In this study, we developed a Bats-Hosts-Reservoir-People transmission network model for simulating the\npotential transmission from the infection source (probably be bats) to the human infection. Since the Bats-Hosts-\nReservoir network was hard to explore clearly and public concerns were focusing on the transmission from Huanan\nSeafood Wholesale Market (reservoir) to people, we simplified the model as Reservoir-People (RP) transmission\nnetwork model. The next generation matrix approach was adopted to calculate the basic reproduction number (R0)\nfrom the RP model to assess the transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2.\nResults: The value of R0 was estimated of 2.30 from reservoir to person and 3.58 from person to person which\nmeans that the expected number of secondary infections that result from introducing a single infected individual\ninto an otherwise susceptible population was 3.58.\nConclusions: Our model showed that the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 was higher than the Middle East\nrespiratory syndrome in the Middle East countries, similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome, but lower than\nMERS in the Republic of Korea....
Background: Most monoclonal antibodies against mouse antigens have been derived from rat spleen-mouse\nmyeloma fusions, which are valuable tools for purposes ranging from general laboratory reagents to therapeutic\ndrugs, and yet selecting and expressing them remains a time-consuming and inefficient process. Here, we report a\nnovel approach for the rapid high-throughput selection and expression of recombinant functional rat monoclonal\nantibodies with different isotypes.\nResults: We have developed a robust system for generating rat monoclonal antibodies through several processes\ninvolving simultaneously immunizing rats with three different antigens expressing in a mixed cell pools, preparing\nhybridoma cell pools, in vitro screening and subsequent cloning of the rearranged light and heavy chains into a\nsingle expression plasmid using a highly efficient assembly method, which can decrease the time and effort\nrequired by multiple immunizations and fusions, traditional clonal selection and expression methods. Using this\nsystem, we successfully selected several rat monoclonal antibodies with different IgG isotypes specifically targeting\nthe mouse PD-1, LAG-3 or AFP protein from a single fusion. We applied these recombinant anti-PD-1 monoclonal\nantibodies (32D6) in immunotherapy for therapeutic purposes that produced the expected results.\nConclusions: This method can be used to facilitate an increased throughput of the entire process from multiplex\nimmunization to acquisition of functional rat monoclonal antibodies and facilitate their expression and feasibility\nusing a single plasmid....
Background: Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare primary immunodeficiency disorder caused by a defect\nin the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase complex. The disease primarily presents with\nrecurrent infections, and patients may also present with inflammatory conditions, including noninfectious colitis, and\nan increased frequency of autoimmunity. We report here a patient with CGD in whom the presentation, unlike the\nclassical presentation of CGD, was predominantly of an inflammatory and autoimmune phenotype.\nCase presentation: A 3-year-old Pakistani female presented with bloody diarrhea since the age of 7 days, followed\nby the development of perianal abscesses and fistula. There was no other history of recurrent infections. The patient\nsubsequently developed joint pain and stiffness with persistently elevated inflammatory markers and elevated anticyclic\ncitrullinate peptide (anti-CCP) antibody titer. She was diagnosed with oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis\nand colitis. .........................................
Background: The incidence of fungal healthcare-associated infection (HAI) has increased in a major teaching\r\nhospital in the northern part of Taiwan over the past decade, especially in the intensive care units (ICUs). The\r\npurpose of this study was to determine the factors that were responsible for the outbreak and trend in the ICU.\r\nMethods: Surveillance fungal cultures were obtained from ââ?¬Å?sterileââ?¬Â objects, antiseptic solutions, environment of\r\ninfected patients and hands of medical personnel. Risk factors for comparison included age, gender, admission\r\nservice, and total length of stay in the ICU, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II scores at\r\nadmission to the ICU, main diagnosis on ICU admission, use of invasive devices, receipt of hemodialysis, total\r\nparenteral nutrition (TPN) use, history of antibiotic therapy before HAI or during ICU stay in no HAI group, and ICU\r\ndischarge status (ie, dead or alive). Univariable analysis followed by multiple logistic regression analysis was\r\nperformed to identify the independent risk factors for ICU fungal HAIs and ICU mortality.\r\nResults: There was a significant trend in ICU fungal HAIs from 1998 to 2009 (P < 0.001). A total of 516 episodes of\r\nICU fungal HAIs were identified; the rates of various infections were urinary tract infection (UTI) (54.8%), blood\r\nstream infection (BSI) (30.6%), surgical site infection (SSI) (6.6%), pneumonia (4.5%), other sites (3.5%). The fungi\r\nidentified were: yeasts (54.8%), Candida albicans (27.3%), Candida tropicalis (6.6%), Candida glabrata (6.6%), Candida\r\nparapsilosis (1.9%), Candida species (0.8%), and other fungi (1.9%). Candida albicans accounted for 63% of all\r\nCandida species. Yeasts were found in the environment of more heavily infected patients. The independent risk\r\nfactors (P < 0.05) of developing ICU fungal HAIs from all sites were TPN use, sepsis, surgical patients, mechanical\r\nventilation and an indwelling urinary catheter. The independent risk factors for ICU fungal UTI included TPN use,\r\nmechanical ventilation and an indwelling urinary catheter. The independent risk factors for ICU fungal BSI included\r\nTPN use, sepsis, and higher APACHE II score. The independent risk factors for ICU fungal pneumonia included TPN\r\nuse, surgical patients. The independent risk factors for ICU fungal SSI included surgical patients, and TPN use. The\r\nodds ratios of TPN use in various infection types ranged from 3.51 to 8.82. The risk of mortality in patients with ICU\r\nfungal HAIs was over 2 times that of patients without ICU HAIs in the multiple logistic regression analysis\r\n(P < 0.001)....
Here, we report a case of 24-year-old female who experienced fever, weight\nloss, and headache by the termination of her pregnancy after 24 weeks. She\nwas admitted due to multiple generalized tonic clonic (GTC) seizures and loss\nof consciousness. Her lab data and histological findings were insignificant as\nwell as negative mycobacterium culture. Her brain MRI detected multiple enhanced\nbrain lesions on T2 weighted images. Overall, she went under empiric\nanti-TB treatment for a year and had a complete recovery. To our knowledge,\nthis is the first reported case of brain tuberculoma with negative histological\nfindings and brain tissue culture who responded to an empiric anti-TB regimen....
Parkeratosis is a disease of zinc (Zn) deficiency, most commonly encountered in endemic areas where soils are deficient in Zn. The present communication puts on record the clinical signs, severity and therapeutic management of the disease. The clinical examination of present study revealed alopecia throughout the body with cracks in the skin of coronary bands around the hooves and teats of the udder with deep fissures, dry scaly skin around the nostrils and red, scabby and wrinkled skin on udder. The serum biochemical examination revealed lowered concentration of Zn and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP). In view of above findings it was diagnosed as parakeratosis and treated by supplementing with Zn carbonate for period of 15 days....
Background The anglerfish, belonging to the teleost order Lophiiformes, are a diverse and species-rich group of fish that are known to exhibit a number of unique morphological, reproductive and immunological adaptations. Work to date has identified the loss of specific adaptive immune components in two of the five Lophiiformes sub-orders (Lophioidei and Ceratioidei), while no anomalies have been identified to date in two other sub-orders, Antennaroidei and Chaunacoidei. The immunogenome of the fifth sub-order, Ogcocephaloidei has not yet been investigated, and we have therefore used whole genome shotgun sequencing, combined with RNA-seq, to survey the adaptive immune capabilities of the polka-dot batfish, O. cubifrons, as a representative of this as yet unexplored sub-order. Results We find that the O. cubifrons genome encodes the core genes needed to mount adaptive T and B cell responses. These genes include those necessary for rearranging and editing antigen receptors, the antigen receptors themselves; as well as the co-receptors, signalling molecules, and antigen presenting molecules (both class I and class II) needed for B cell and T cell development and activation. Conclusions From an immune perspective, the polka-dot batfish has a canonical complement of adaptive immune genes, and does not exhibit any of the adaptive immune changes previously identified in monkfish and oceanic anglerfish....
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