Impact assessment in a non-government organisation

<p>Supplemental_figure for A Simple Scoring System Using the Red Blood Cell Distribution Width, Delta Neutrophil Index, and Platelet Count to Predict Mortality in Patients With Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock by Yong Chan Kim, Je Eun Song, Eun Jin Kim, Heun Choi, Woo Yong Jeong, In Young Jung, Su Jin Jeong, Nam Su Ku, Jun Yong Choi, Young Goo Song, and June Myung Kim in Journal of Intensive Care Medicine</p

Nucleotide sequence of the <i>lytA</i> gene used to design the Sp LAMP primer.

<p>The sequences used for Sp LAMP primers are indicated by arrows (A). Structure and sequence of the primers used in the Sp LAMP reaction (B).</p

Detection limit of the LAMP and PCR assays using cerebrospinal fluid specimens spiked with <i>S. pneumoniae</i> (ATCC 6305).

a<p>Results obtained by duplicate trial: +, amplification occurred; −, amplification did not occur.</p>b<p>Results obtained by electrophoretic analysis.</p>c<p>Results determined by visual inspection.</p

Detection of <i>S. pneumoniae</i> in 25 clinical isolates of oral streptococci by PCR and LAMP methods.

a<p>Classification based on API20 Strep identification testing.</p>b<p>+, optochin sensitive; −, optochin resistant.</p>c<p>+, bile soluble; −, bile insoluble.</p>d<p>Final identification from API20 strep testing, optochin sensitivity and bile solubility.</p>e<p>+, amplification occurred; −, amplification did not occur.</p

Real-time sensitivity of Sp LAMP, as monitored by the measurement of turbidity.

<p>Shown from left to right in the figure are the curves of decreasing concentration (1,000,000 to 1) of bacteria. The detection limit was 10 copies (A). The relationship between the threshold time (<i>Tt</i>) of each sample and the log of the amount of initial template DNA (B).</p

Detection limits of the LAMP and PCR assays for <i>Streptococcus pneumoniae</i>.

a<p>Results obtained by triplicate trial: +, amplification occurred; −, amplification did not occur.</p>b<p>Results obtained by electrophoretic analysis.</p>c<p>Results determined by visual inspection.</p

Supplemental_table_2 - A Simple Scoring System Using the Red Blood Cell Distribution Width, Delta Neutrophil Index, and Platelet Count to Predict Mortality in Patients With Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock

<p>Supplemental_table_2 for A Simple Scoring System Using the Red Blood Cell Distribution Width, Delta Neutrophil Index, and Platelet Count to Predict Mortality in Patients With Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock by Yong Chan Kim, Je Eun Song, Eun Jin Kim, Heun Choi, Woo Yong Jeong, In Young Jung, Su Jin Jeong, Nam Su Ku, Jun Yong Choi, Young Goo Song, and June Myung Kim in Journal of Intensive Care Medicine</p

Molecular Insights Into the Evolutionary Pathway of <i>Vibrio cholerae</i> O1 Atypical El Tor Variants

<div><p>Pandemic <i>V. cholerae</i> strains in the O1 serogroup have 2 biotypes: classical and El Tor. The classical biotype strains of the sixth pandemic, which encode the classical type cholera toxin (CT), have been replaced by El Tor biotype strains of the seventh pandemic. The prototype El Tor strains that produce biotype-specific cholera toxin are being replaced by atypical El Tor variants that harbor classical cholera toxin. Atypical El Tor strains are categorized into 2 groups, Wave 2 and Wave 3 strains, based on genomic variations and the CTX phage that they harbor. Whole-genome analysis of <i>V. cholerae</i> strains in the seventh cholera pandemic has demonstrated gradual changes in the genome of prototype and atypical El Tor strains, indicating that atypical strains arose from the prototype strains by replacing the CTX phages. We examined the molecular mechanisms that effected the emergence of El Tor strains with classical cholera toxin-carrying phage. We isolated an intermediary <i>V. cholerae</i> strain that carried two different CTX phages that encode El Tor and classical cholera toxin, respectively. We show here that the intermediary strain can be converted into various Wave 2 strains and can act as the source of the novel mosaic CTX phages. These results imply that the Wave 2 and Wave 3 strains may have been generated from such intermediary strains in nature. Prototype El Tor strains can become Wave 3 strains by excision of CTX-1 and re-equipping with the new CTX phages. Our data suggest that inter-chromosomal recombination between 2 types of CTX phages is possible when a host bacterial cell is infected by multiple CTX phages. Our study also provides molecular insights into population changes in <i>V. cholerae</i> in the absence of significant changes to the genome but by replacement of the CTX prophage that they harbor.</p></div

Additional file 1: of Comparison of the efficacy of nafcillin and glycopeptides as definitive therapy for patients with methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: a retrospective cohort study

Supplement 1. Antibiotic resistance rate of identified Staphylococcus aureus. (DOCX 21 kb

Clinical Evaluation of a Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) Assay for Rapid Detection of <i>Neisseria meningitidis</i> in Cerebrospinal Fluid

<div><p>Background</p><p><i>Neisseria meningitidis</i> (Nm) is a leading causative agent of bacterial meningitis in humans. Traditionally, meningococcal meningitis has been diagnosed by bacterial culture. However, isolation of bacteria from patients’ cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is time consuming and sometimes yields negative results. Recently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic methods of detecting Nm have been considered the gold standard because of their superior sensitivity and specificity compared with culture. In this study, we developed a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method and evaluated its ability to detect Nm in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).</p><p>Methodology/Principal Findings</p><p>We developed a meningococcal LAMP assay (Nm LAMP) that targets the <i>ctrA</i> gene. The primer specificity was validated using 16 strains of <i>N</i>. <i>meningitidis</i> (serogroup A, B, C, D, 29-E, W-135, X, Y, and Z) and 19 non-<i>N</i>. <i>meningitidis</i> species. Within 60 min, the Nm LAMP detected down to ten copies per reaction with sensitivity 1000-fold more than that of conventional PCR. The LAMP assays were evaluated using a set of 1574 randomly selected CSF specimens from children with suspected meningitis collected between 1998 and 2002 in Vietnam, China, and Korea. The LAMP method was shown to be more sensitive than PCR methods for CSF samples (31 CSF samples were positive by LAMP vs. 25 by PCR). The detection rate of the LAMP method was substantially higher than that of the PCR method. In a comparative analysis of the PCR and LAMP assays, the clinical sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the LAMP assay were 100%, 99.6%, 80.6%, and 100%, respectively.</p><p>Conclusions/Significance</p><p>Compared to PCR, LAMP detected Nm with higher analytical and clinical sensitivity. This sensitive and specific LAMP method offers significant advantages for screening patients on a population basis and for diagnosis in clinical settings.</p></div