Q4MRATools: Quantitative tools to microbial risk assessment.

In the context of the European Food Risk Assessment (EU-FORA) fellowship programme, the project 'Q4MRATools: Quantitative Tools to Microbial Risk Assessment' focused on training in predictive microbiology, experimental design and the use of advanced software tools like R, MATLAB, @Risk, DMFit and GInaFiT. The primary objective of this programme was to equip the fellow with foundational knowledge in quantitative microbial risk assessments (QMRA), thereby contributing to the development of more effective and accurate food safety risk assessments. This initiative was part of a broader effort to address the evolving challenges in food safety by enhancing collaborative actions and developing robust food safety systems.

Validation of digital image slides for diagnosis in cervico-vaginal cytology.

Objective: To test the diagnostic concordance between microscopic (MI) and digital (DG) observation of cervico-vaginal (CV) cytology in a validation study of the technique.

Methods: Five cytotechnologists (CT) reviewed 888 routine CV cytology cases from the Cervical Pathology Unit of our center over a 2-week period of time. The cases were first observed by MI and at the end of the day the cases were observed by DG.

Performance of a Point of Care Test for Detecting IgM and IgG Antibodies Against SARS-CoV-2 and Seroprevalence in Blood Donors and Health Care Workers in Panama.

Novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiologic agent of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has reached 28 million cases worldwide in 1 year. The serological detection of antibodies against the virus will play a pivotal role in complementing molecular tests to improve diagnostic accuracy, contact tracing, vaccine efficacy testing, and seroprevalence surveillance. Here, we aimed first to evaluate a lateral flow assay's ability to identify specific IgM and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and second, to report the seroprevalence estimates of these antibodies among health care workers and healthy volunteer blood donors in Panama.

Probable long-term prevalence for a predominant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clone of a Beijing genotype in Colon, Panama.

Beijing genotype Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains associate with increased virulence, resistance and/or higher transmission rates. This study describes a specific Beijing strain predominantly identified in the Panamanian province of Colon with one of the highest incidences of tuberculosis in the country. Retrospective mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit/variable number of tandem repeats analysis of 42 isolates collected between January and August 2018 allowed to identify a cluster (Beijing A) with 17 (40.

Case Report: COVID-19 Recovery from Triple Infection with , HIV, and SARS-CoV-2.

COVID-19, designated as SARS-CoV-2, has caused millions of infections worldwide, including in patients with concomitant infections. Here, we report two unusual cases of patients with triple infections of SARS-CoV-2, , and HIV. Both cases were confirmed through microbiological and immunological studies.