Evaluation of factors influencing Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex recovery and contamination rates in MGIT960.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem worldwide. Contamination rate and poor recovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in MGIT960 culture may affect the early diagnosis of TB. Evidence is needed to determine the factors associated with contamination rates and MTBC recovery in MGIT960.

Existing blood transcriptional classifiers accurately discriminate active tuberculosis from latent infection in individuals from south India.

Several studies have identified blood transcriptomic signatures that can distinguish active from latent Tuberculosis (TB). The purpose of this study was to assess how well these existing gene profiles classify TB disease in a South Indian population. RNA sequencing was performed on whole blood PAXgene samples collected from 28 TB patients and 16 latently TB infected (LTBI) subjects enrolled as part of an ongoing household contact study.

Comorbidities in pulmonary tuberculosis cases in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, India: Opportunities for intervention.

Background: We aimed to define characteristics of TB patients in Puducherry and two districts of Tamil Nadu, India and calculate the population attributable fractions (PAF) of TB from malnutrition and alcohol.

Methods: New smear-positive TB cases were enrolled into the Regional Prospective Observational Research for Tuberculosis (RePORT India) cohort. Census and National Family Health Survey data were used for comparisons.

Predictors of delayed care seeking for tuberculosis in southern India: an observational study.

Background: Reducing delay to accessing care is necessary to reduce the Tuberculosis (TB) burden in high incidence countries such as India. This study aimed to identify factors associated with delays in seeking care for TB in Southern India.

Methods: We analyzed data from newly diagnosed, smear-positive, culture-confirmed, pulmonary TB patients in the Regional Prospective Observational Research for TB (RePORT) cohort in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, India.

The relationship between gun ownership and stranger and nonstranger firearm homicide rates in the United States, 1981-2010.

Objectives: We examined the relationship between gun ownership and stranger versus nonstranger homicide rates.

Methods: Using data from the Supplemental Homicide Reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reports for all 50 states for 1981 to 2010, we modeled stranger and nonstranger homicide rates as a function of state-level gun ownership, measured by a proxy, controlling for potential confounders. We used a negative binomial regression model with fixed effects for year, accounting for clustering of observations among states by using generalized estimating equations.