Investigation of Yersinia pestis and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strains from Georgia and neighboring countries in the Caucasus by high-density SNP microarray.

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a recently evolved clone of the enteropathogenic bacterium Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Y. pestis has been extensively studied for decades; however, there are insufficient data about the intra-species diversity of this microorganism in certain parts of the world, including the Caucasus region.

Systematic radiation dose optimization of abdominal dual-energy CT on a second-generation dual-source CT scanner: assessment of the accuracy of iodine uptake measurement and image quality in an in vitro and in vivo investigations.

Purpose: To assess the accuracy of iodine quantification in a phantom study at different radiation dose levels with dual-energy dual-source CT and to evaluate image quality and radiation doses in patients undergoing a single-energy and two dual-energy abdominal CT protocols.

Methods: In a phantom study, the accuracy of iodine quantification (4.5-23.

Seroepidemiology and molecular diversity of Leishmania donovani complex in Georgia.

Background: Leishmaniasis includes multiple clinical syndromes, most notably visceral, cutaneous, and mucosal forms. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), also known as kala-azar, is a potentially fatal disease endemic to large parts of Africa and Asia, and in South-Eastern Europe (Greece, Turkey, Georgia). Visceral leishmaniasis is a parasitic zoonosis caused by species of the L.

Comparative Proteomic Studies of Yersinia pestis Strains Isolated from Natural Foci in the Republic of Georgia.

Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a highly virulent bacterium responsible for millions of human deaths throughout history. In the last decade, two natural plague foci have been described in the Republic of Georgia from which dozens of Y. pestis strains have been isolated.

Assessment of image quality and low-contrast detectability in abdominal CT of obese patients: comparison of a novel integrated circuit with a conventional discrete circuit detector at different tube voltages.

Objectives: To compare image quality and low-contrast detectability of an integrated circuit (IC) detector in abdominal CT of obese patients with conventional detector technology at low tube voltages.

Methods: A liver phantom with 45 lesions was placed in a water container to mimic an obese patient and examined on two different CT systems at 80, 100 and 120 kVp. The systems were equipped with either the IC or conventional detector.

Phylogeography of Bacillus anthracis in the country of Georgia shows evidence of population structuring and is dissimilar to other regional genotypes.

Sequence analyses and subtyping of Bacillus anthracis strains from Georgia reveal a single distinct lineage (Aust94) that is ecologically established. Phylogeographic analysis and comparisons to a global collection reveals a clade that is mostly restricted to Georgia. Within this clade, many groups are found around the country, however at least one subclade is only found in the eastern part.

Epidemiology of visceral leishmaniasis in Georgia.

This study investigated the transmission and prevalence of Leishmania parasite infection of humans in two foci of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) in Georgia, the well known focus in Tbilisi in the East, and in Kutaisi, a new focus in the West of the country. The seroprevalence of canine leishmaniasis was investigated in order to understand the zoonotic transmission. Blood samples of 1575 dogs (stray and pet) and 77 wild canids were tested for VL by Kalazar Detect rK39 rapid diagnostic tests.

Colorectal cancer: current imaging methods and future perspectives for the diagnosis, staging and therapeutic response evaluation.

In the last 10 years the mortality rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) has decreased by more than 20% due to the rising developments in diagnostic techniques and optimization of surgical, neoadjuvant and palliative therapies. Diagnostic methods currently used in the evaluation of CRC are heterogeneous and can vary within the countries and the institutions. This article aims to discuss in depth currently applied imaging modalities such as virtual computed tomography colonoscopy, endorectal ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of CRC.

Phylogeography of Francisella tularensis subspecies holarctica from the country of Georgia.

Background: Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, displays subspecies-specific differences in virulence, geographic distribution, and genetic diversity. F. tularensis subsp.

Kidney and urinary tract imaging: triple-bolus multidetector CT urography as a one-stop shop--protocol design, opacification, and image quality analysis.

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate renal, vascular, and urinary tract visualization following a single postcontrast multidetector computed tomographic (CT) urographic sequence performed with three limited-volume bolus injections.

Materials And Methods: The institutional review board approved this retrospective study. Patient informed consent was waived.

Is ultrasound of the retroperitoneum a valuable staging method in selecting testicular cancer patients for primary retroperitoneal lymph node dissection?

Objective: In nonseminomatous testicular cancer patients with normal serum tumor markers and no distant metastasis, postorchiectomy surgery is a valid treatment option if the disease extension into the retroperitoneum is not advanced. We assessed the ability of ultrasound (US) to exclude the presence of bulky retroperitoneal disease.

Materials And Methods: One hundred and forty testicular cancer patients underwent US and computed tomography (CT) of the retroperitoneum.

Genetic background and antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated in the Republic of Georgia.

The genetic composition and antibiotic sensitivities of 50 clinical isolates of Staphylococcus aureus obtained from various clinics in the Republic of Georgia were characterized. S. aureus strains ATCC 700699 and ATCC 29737 were included as reference standards in all analyses.

Action of a novel pyrrolo[1,2-c][1.3]benzodiazepine on the viability of Jurkat and neuronal/glial cells.

We have designed and synthesized several structural isomers of anthramycin (heterocycles 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8) and found that, in particular, pyrrolobenzodiazepine 8 induces DNA cleavage and formation of small fragments of DNA. The cytotoxic effects of 8 were manifested with both non-transformed primary neuronal/glial cells and transformed Jurkat cells. The other compounds did not change the viability either of transformed or of non-transformed cells, and induced DNA cleavage to a lesser extent.

Multidetector CT urography: techniques, clinical applications, and pitfalls.

For two decades, computed tomography (CT) has challenged intravenous urography (IVU) in the evaluation of urinary tract abnormalities. Compared with IVU, CT is more sensitive and specific in the detection and characterization of a variety of urinary tract disorders, including renal masses and urolithiasis. The last purported advantage of IVU has been its ability to depict subtle and mucosal abnormalities of the urothelium.

Salmonellosis in the Republic of Georgia: using molecular typing to identify the outbreak-causing strain.

In May 1998, three large outbreaks of salmonellosis, affecting 91 persons, were identified in the Republic of Georgia. Eighteen Salmonella Typhimurium strains were characterized by arbitrary primed polymerase chain reaction and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis; the results suggested that all cases were part of a single outbreak caused by a distinct clonal strain.

Diphtheria in the Republic of Georgia: use of molecular typing techniques for characterization of Corynebacterium diphtheriae strains.

Sixty-six Corynebacterium diphtheriae strains (62 of the gravis biotype and 4 of the mitis biotype) isolated during the Georgian diphtheria epidemic of 1993 to 1998 and 13 non-Georgian C. diphtheriae strains (10 Russian and 3 reference isolates) were characterized by (i) biotyping, (ii) toxigenicity testing with the Elek assay and PCR, (iii) the randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique, and (iv) pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Fifteen selected strains were ribotyped.

Replication origins are attached to the nuclear skeleton.

DNA fragments containing replication origins (oriDNA) were isolated from a chicken erythroblast cell line by a modified procedure of Zannis-Hadjopoulos et al. and studied in the renaturation reaction driven by either total or nuclear matrix DNA (nmDNA) from the same cells or from mature erythrocytes. We found that the unique sequences of nmDNA from erythroblasts (5 kb long) represented a specific subset of sequences constituting about a quarter of total DNA unique sequences, while the erythrocyte nmDNA 5 kb fragments constitute only about one tenth of total unique DNA and all are recovered among erythroblast nmDNA.

[Spatial organization of replicons in the eukaryotic nucleus: attachment of replication initiation regions to the nuclear skeleton].

The DNA fraction enriched in replication origins was isolated from chicken erythroblastosis cells with the aid of nascent DNA strand extrusion method. In renaturation experiments, the sequence specificity of this DNA fraction (oriDNA) was compared to the sequence specificity of the nuclear matrix DNA. The oriDNA was shown to comprise a specific subset of unique genes all of which being represented also in the nuclear matrix DNA.

[A preparation of short DNA chains synthesized in vivo after introduction into DNA from live cells of trioxsalen crosslinks is not enriched by replication initiation regions].

The experiments undertaken in order to verify the trioxsalen-crosslinking method suggested by Russev and Vassilev for isolation of eukaryotic replication origins are described. It was found that the preparation of viral DNA isolated by the above mentioned method from CV-1 cells lytically infected with SV40 was not enriched in sequences including SV40 replication origin. The hybridization pattern of DNA preparation isolated by the trioxsalen-crosslinking procedure from chicken erythroblastosis cells with the cloned fragments of globin gene domain was found to be identical to those of the total DNA probe.