Development of a Syndromic Molecular Diagnostic Assay for Tick-Borne Pathogens Using Barcoded Magnetic Bead Technology.

Infectious disease diagnostics often depend on costly serological testing with poor sensitivity, low specificity, and long turnaround time. Here, we demonstrate proof of the principle for simultaneous detection of two tick-borne pathogens from a single test sample using barcoded magnetic bead technology on the BioCode 2500 system. Specific primer sets complementary to the conserved genes of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi were used in PCR amplification of the target, followed by the hybridization of the resulting biotinylated PCR products with specific probes tethered to the barcoded magnetic beads for simultaneous detection, using a fluorophore with high quantum yield.

Ultrasound evaluation of stress injuries and physiological adaptations in the fingers of adolescent competitive rock climbers.

Background: The impact of high-intensity, repetitive training on the fingers of adolescent climbers is relatively unknown.

Objective: To evaluate this effect by ultrasound (US) and to confirm some findings by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials And Methods: The US study was performed in 20 adolescent rock climbers (ages 10-17 years) and 6 non-climbing controls (ages 11-15 years).

The relationship between pre-verbal event representations and semantic structures: The case of goal and source paths.

We explored the nature of infants' concepts for goal path and source path in motion events (e.g., the duck moved into the bowl/out of the bowl), specifically asking how infants' representations could support the acquisition of the semantic roles of goal path and source path in language.