A total of 1631 stool specimens were tested for Clostridium difficile toxins A and B using an enzyme immunoassay (EIA). C. difficile toxin was detected in 191 (11.7%, 191/1631) cases by EIA. Among the remaining 1440 cases, 102 cases in patients with either antibiotic-associated diarrhoea or hospitalized patients with unexplained leukocytosis (> 15,000/mm³) and fever (≥ 38°C) even though they did not meet the criteria for diarrhoea, were further assessed using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the toxin B gene (tcdB). Thirty-four cases were tcdB-positive (33.3%, 34/102). A total of 225 cases (13.8%, 225/1631) had a stool test result positive for C. difficile toxins. Among these, 145 cases were diagnosed with C. difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD): 80.7% (117/145) using the EIA and 19.3% (28/145) using the PCR. In our study, the 2-test algorithm including EIA-toxin assay and PCR test made a more accurate diagnosis of CDAD. Furthermore, the application of clinical situations may be effective in the selection of patients who need confirmatory testing.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/00365548.2012.695456 | DOI Listing |
Animals (Basel)
December 2024
Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu 501-1193, Japan.
In intensive beef production systems, social dominance relationships among cattle and human-cattle relationships constantly affect cattle welfare. However, these factors have not been investigated to assess their long-term effects on cattle welfare. In this study, the relations of hair cortisol concentrations of group-housed pregnant cows with their social rank and avoidance distance when approached by humans were analysed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMikrochim Acta
January 2025
Science and Technology Research and Application Center (BITAM), Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Türkiye.
A lateral flow assay (LFA) has been developed that can be used in point-of-care (PoC) use for the sensitive determination of leptin hormone. The limit of detection value was 0.158 ng/mL and the limit of quantification value was 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Chim Acta
January 2025
Department of Laboratories, Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, United States; Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States. Electronic address:
Background: The complement membrane attack complex involves C5b-mediated assembly of C6-C9 polymers to form pores in cell membranes during complement activation. Inactive complexes can become soluble C5b-9 (sC5b-9) when they bind to Protein S. Elevated sC5b-9 levels are associated with increased risk of hematopoietic stem cell transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA), a serious condition which can be improved with eculizumab therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood Chem
January 2025
College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China; State & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Green Pesticide Invention and Application, Nanjing 210095, China. Electronic address:
Lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has the advantages of simplicity and rapidness, and is widely used for the rapid detection of pesticides and other analytes. However, small molecule compounds such as pesticides are often analyzed using competitive LFIA (CLFIA), whose sensitivity often does not meet the actual needs. In this study, a noncompetitive LFIA (NLFIA) for deltamethrin (DM) with high sensitivity was developed by using anti-immunocomplex peptides (AIcPs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Nutr Health Aging
January 2025
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul 05505, South Korea. Electronic address:
Background: Based on the compelling experimental evidence supporting apelin's beneficial effects on muscle metabolism, our study aimed to evaluate the role of circulating apelin levels as a biomarker for muscle health in humans.
Methods: This investigation employed a cross-sectional design, encompassing 237 community-dwelling older adults aged ≥65 years who underwent comprehensive geriatric evaluations in South Korea. Sarcopenia diagnosis was based on Asian-specific criteria, and serum apelin concentrations were determined using enzyme immunoassay techniques.
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