A diagnostic platform for rapid, simultaneous quantification of procalcitonin and C-reactive protein in human serum.

Background: Early and accurate determination of bacterial infections as a potential cause for a patient's systemic inflammatory response is required for timely administration of appropriate treatment and antibiotic stewardship. Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) have both been used as biomarkers to infer bacterial infections, particularly in the context of sepsis. There is an urgent need to develop a platform for simultaneous quantification of PCT and CRP, to enable the potential use of these biomarkers at the point-of-care.

Rapid Diagnostic Platform for Colorimetric Differential Detection of Dengue and Chikungunya Viral Infections.

In this work, we demonstrate a rapid diagnostic platform with potential to transform clinical diagnosis of acute febrile illnesses in resource-limited settings. Acute febrile illnesses such as dengue and chikungunya, which pose high burdens of disease in tropical regions, share many nonspecific symptoms and are difficult to diagnose based on clinical history alone in the absence of accessible laboratory diagnostics. Through a unique color-mixing encoding and readout strategy, our platform enabled consistent and accurate multiplexed detection of dengue and chikungunya IgM/IgG antibodies in human clinical samples within 30 min.

Post-Genomic Analysis of Members of the Family Vibrionaceae.

Similar to other genera and species of bacteria, whole genomic sequencing has revolutionized how we think about and address questions of basic Vibrio biology. In this review we examined 36 completely sequenced and annotated members of the Vibrionaceae family, encompassing 12 different species of the genera Vibrio, Aliivibrio, and Photobacterium. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships among representatives of this group of bacteria by using three housekeeping genes and 16S rRNA sequences.

Deciphering the role of multiple betaine-carnitine-choline transporters in the Halophile Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a halophile that is the predominant cause of bacterial seafood-related gastroenteritis worldwide. To survive in the marine environment, V. parahaemolyticus must have adaptive strategies to cope with salinity changes.

Biosynthesis of the osmoprotectant ectoine, but not glycine betaine, is critical for survival of osmotically stressed Vibrio parahaemolyticus cells.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a halophile present in marine and estuarine environments, ecosystems characterized by fluctuations in salinity and temperature. One strategy to thrive in such environments is the synthesis and/or uptake of compatible solutes. The V.

Improved assay to detect Plasmodium falciparum using an uninterrupted, semi-nested PCR and quantitative lateral flow analysis.

Background: A rapid, non-invasive, and inexpensive point-of-care (POC) diagnostic for malaria followed by therapeutic intervention would improve the ability to control infection in endemic areas.

Methods: A semi-nested PCR amplification protocol is described for quantitative detection of Plasmodium falciparum and is compared to a traditional nested PCR. The approach uses primers that target the P.