Comparison of two PCR methods for detection of Leptospira interrogans in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues.

In this study we compared two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods using either 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) or 23S rRNA gene primers for the detection of different Leptospira interrogans serovars. The performance of these two methods was assessed using DNA extracted from bovine tissues previously inoculated with several bacterial suspensions. PCR was performed on the same tissues before and after the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedding procedure (FFPE tissues).

[Rapid serological diagnosis systems for human leptospirosis screening in Cuba].

Introduction: human leptospirosis requires rapid and early microbiological diagnosis since it is a common lethal disease worldwide.

Objectives: to increase the quality of microbiological diagnosis of this infection, to expand the knowledge on the circulation of groups of leptospiras in Cuba and to show the benefits of an agglutination assay using Cuban latex particles and of commercial immunochromatogenic systems LEPTO Dipstick, Lepto Tek Lateral Flow, Lepto Tek Dri Dot and SD Leptospira IgM-IgG.

Methods: this descriptive research used sera from positive and negative control cases to evaluate and measure the diagnostic value of rapid serological diagnosis systems with respect to the microagglutination method of reference (MAT).

Personality profiles and minor affective psychopathology in a non-clinical sample: an empirical verification of Cloninger's theoretical model.

Background: Psychopathological vulnerability may be related to certain personality traits. The aim of this study was to explore the association of minor affective psychopathology and the regular use of psychotropic medication with temperament and character profiles from Cloninger's personality model, in a sample of active professional people.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 498 non-clinical subjects, teachers in a local school system.

[Diagnosis of Mycoplasma genitalium by MgPa and rRNA 16S gene amplification].

Objective: Mycoplasma genitalium has been associated with nongonococcal urethritis (NGU). Diagnosis by PCR has become the primary detection method for this organism. Thus, diagnosis by DNA amplification using the PCR technique should be utilized.

[Diagnosis of Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma parvum y Ureaplasma urealyticum in patients with bacterial vaginosis].

An observational descriptive study to determine the frequency of Mycoplasma hominis, Ureaplasma parvum and Ureaplasma urealyticum isolates in patients with bacterial vaginosis was carried out in 296 patients who had vaginal secretion and were seen at two hospitals. The diagnosis was based on Amsel's criteria. Endocervical swabs were taken from women positive to this disease for M.

Personality traits associated with caffeine intake and smoking.

Objectives: Some studies find a relationship between certain personality traits, as impulsivity or sensation seeking, and caffeine consumption, but these studies do not consider the potential confounding effect of smoking on caffeine intake, a co-occurrence that has been well demonstrated in epidemiological and clinical studies. The main objective of this cross-sectional study was to analyze the association of personality with caffeine intake controlling for the effects of smoking; a secondary objective was to explore the effect of caffeine intake on the previously known relationship between personality and smoking.

Methods: A sample of 498 adults answered a self-questionnaire including socio-demographic variables, and items regarding consumption of tobacco and caffeine.

Factors associated with psychiatric morbidity in Spanish schoolteachers.

Background: The relationship between psychiatric morbidity and characteristics of the work environment has been well-documented, and one of the professional groups in which psychiatric symptoms are most common is schoolteachers.

Aims: The present study was designed to evaluate the association between psychiatric morbidity [measured with General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)-28 score] and workplace-, sociodemographic- and personality-related variables in schoolteachers.

Methods: A sample of 498 non-university teachers in the city of Granada (southern Spain) were studied with a questionnaire comprising items that covered work-related variables (work and professional variables, as well as job perceptions), sociodemographic characteristics of the teachers and personality, evaluated with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-125).

[Outbreak of human leptospirosis in Guantánamo Province].

A characterization of the epidemic occurred in Guantánamo province during October and November 2005, and as well as of the activities developed for its control was made. The existence of favourable factors was confirmed, and as a result from the 42nd statistical week on there was an increase in the number of medical attentions with clinical pictures and epidemiologic elements. 885 suspected cases were notified, 61 were microbiologically confirmed, accounting for a positivity of 69%.

[Microbiological confirmation of two emergent outbreaks of human leptospirosis in Cuba].

Clinical samples from 293 patients with suspicion of leptospirosis were studied for the microbiologic confirmation of these events, in October-December 2005, when there were 2 outbreaks in humans, in Cuba. Sera samples of patients in acute phase and during convalescence, as well as hemocultures performed before the beginning of the antibiotic therapy, were analyzed. Conventional techniques (passive hemagglutination test and serogroups hemagglutination), and advanced or fast diagnosis techniques (Lepto tek Dri-Dot, Lepto-Cuba, Latex-India, Lepto tek Lateral Flow) were used for serologic diagnosis.