Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2018 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 5 Articles
Objective. Our team created a knowledge, attitudes, and practice (KAP) survey in order to assess changes over time in healthcare\nprovider and community member awareness of Zika virus symptoms, transmission, treatment, and current and future concerns.\nStudy Design.The cross-sectional survey was issued at an academic medical center in Washington, DC, and via an online link to\nhealthcare providers and community members between June and August 2016. Survey distribution was then repeated the following\nyear, fromMarch to April 2017.Outcomes were compared by survey year and healthcare provider versus community member status\nusing SAS ProgramVersion 9.4. Results. Significant differences in knowledge, attitudes, and practices existed between 2016 and 2017\nsurvey time points. By 2017, more respondents had knowledge of various Zika virus infection characteristics; however healthcare\nprovider knowledge also waned in certain areas. Attitudes towards Zika virus infection displayed an overall decreased concern\nby 2017. Practice trends by 2017 demonstrated fewer travel restrictions to Zika-endemic areas and increased mosquito protective\nmeasures within the US. Conclusions. Our results provide novel insight into the transformation of knowledge, attitudes, and\npractice of community members and healthcare providers regarding Zika virus since its declaration as a public health emergency\nof international concern in 2016....
Adaptive immunity is mediated by T- and B-cells, which are immune cells capable of developing pathogen-specific memory that\nconfers immunological protection. Memory and effector functions of B- and T-cells are predicated on the recognition through\nspecialized receptors of specific targets (antigens) in pathogens. More specifically, B- and T-cells recognize portions within their\ncognate antigens known as epitopes. There is great interest in identifying epitopes in antigens for a number of practical reasons,\nincluding understanding disease etiology, immune monitoring, developing diagnosis assays, and designing epitope-based\nvaccines. Epitope identification is costly and time-consuming as it requires experimental screening of large arrays of potential\nepitope candidates. Fortunately, researchers have developed in silico prediction methods that dramatically reduce the burden\nassociated with epitope mapping by decreasing the list of potential epitope candidates for experimental testing. Here, we analyze\naspects of antigen recognition by T- and B-cells that are relevant for epitope prediction. Subsequently, we provide a systematic\nand inclusive review of the most relevant B- and T-cell epitope prediction methods and tools, paying particular attention to\ntheir foundations....
Peritonitis and exit-site infections are important complications in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients that are occasionally caused by\nopportunistic fungi inhabiting distant body sites. In this study, the oral yeast colonization of PD patients and the antifungal\nsusceptibility profile of the isolated yeasts were accessed and correlated with fungal infection episodes in the following 4 years.\nSaliva yeast colonization was accessed in 21 PD patients and 27 healthy controls by growth in CHROMagar-Candida�® and 18S\nrRNA/ITS sequencing. PD patients presented a lower oral yeast prevalence when compared to controls, namely, Candida albicans.\nOther species were also isolated, Candida glabrata and Candida carpophila.The antifungal susceptibility profiles of these isolates\nrevealed resistance to itraconazole, variable susceptibility to caspofungin, and higher MIC values of posaconazole compared to\nprevious reports. The 4-year longitudinal evaluation of these patients revealed Candida parapsilosis and Candida zeylanoides as\nPD-related exit-site infectious agents, but no correlation was found with oral yeast colonization. This pilot study suggests that oral\nyeast colonization may represent a limited risk for fungal infection development in PD patients. Oral yeast isolates presented\na variable antifungal susceptibility profile, which may suggest resistance to some second-line drugs, highlighting the importance of\nantifungal susceptibility assessment in the clinical practice....
This study aimed to determine the prevalence of H. pylori infections among schoolchildren and investigate the associations between\nH. pylori seropositivity and existence of gastrointestinal symptoms. Methods. A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted\nduring a period from January to December 2012 at Kassala state, east of Sudan. Schoolchildren from different primary schools\nwere enrolled in the study. Sociodemographic characteristics and gastrointestinal symptoms were recorded from each child. A\nrapid immunochromatographic test was performed for the detection of H. pylori IgG antibodies. Data on patient demographic\ncharacteristics, clinical diagnosis, and findings of H. pylori infection were analyzed by simple descriptive statistics. Results. Among\n431 schoolchildren, H. pylori seropositivity was found to be 21.8%. The majority of children (79; 84%) had BMI below the normal\nrange. The most frequent symptoms associated with H. pylori infections were nausea (25.5%), followed by gastric pain (24.5%) and\nheart pain (20.2%). There were statistically significant differences in H. pylori seropositivity between boys and girls (...
Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment for carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-Kp) infection is a big challenge\nfor clinicians due to its high mortality. Every effort has been made to improve its clinical outcomes. However, treatment according\nto synergy susceptibility testing has never been reported in the literature. We reported a 29-year-old systemic lupus erythematosus\nfemale with CR-Kp blood stream infection. We highlighted the identification by next generation sequencing and treatment\naccording to synergy susceptibility testing in the case....
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