Background: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most important microorganisms that causes various human diseases by secreting virulence factors known as staphylococcal super antigens (SAgs). Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B (SEB) is a bacterial antigen that is responsible for food poisoning in humans. Among SEB detection methods, a lateral flow device (LFD) is ideal for rapid immunochromatographic Tests because it is easy to use, requires minimal time to produce results, and does not require personnel training.Objectives: In our laboratory, the production of an immunochromatographic Test strip, for the detection of SEB using a sandwich assay and a competitive method, was described; the Test can detect SEB with high sensitivity.Materials and Methods: The strip assays were compared with PCR, a valid method for detection. For PCR, a specific sequence for SEB production was detected using primers designed according to GenBank sequences.Results: In total, 80 food samples suspected of SEB contamination were assessed using the two methods. Fifty-four samples were contaminated based on the PCR technique and twenty-six of those were confirmed using the strip assay.Conclusions: The sensitivity of the sandwich method was approximately 10 ng/mL and that of the competitive method was approximately 250 ng/mL. In the LFD, a highly specific monoclonal antibody used for both the sandwich and competitive methods resulted in an increased sensitivity and accuracy for the detection of a minimal SEB concentration.

Thai POCT forum coordinator, Bangkok, Thailand Iranian Journal of Pathology (2011)6 (2), 106 Editor, point of care Testing (POCT) is the new concept that helps fasten the laboratory analysis in real clinical practice. New POCT analyzers can be useful for site Testing of many clinical chemistry parameters. The use of strip Test is common in performing a POCT Test (1). Some reports confirm that the splitting of multiple-Test strip into a single parameter is still reliable and can be a cost reduction method (2)…..

Background: Until now, the comparison of the rK39 strip Test (RKT) and direct agglu-tination Test (DAT) for detection of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is exclusively based on either positive or negative qualification of the reaction outcome. Objective: In this study, we compared the diagnostic performance of RKT and DAT for VL both qualita-tively and semi-quantitatively. Methods: For comparison based on semi-quantitative grounds, the execution of RKT and DAT was according to the standard procedures. For comparison on semi-qualitative grounds with DAT, the RKT was applied to aliquots from positive samples that were two-fold serially diluted in saline to determine, as for the DAT, the end-point reaction in RKT. Results: While qualitatively both RKT and DAT demonstrated comparable reliability for VL detection (sensitivity = 96% and specificity = 98.7% or 99.3%), no significant correlation (r = 0.13) could be established between intensities of their positive reactions in 25 cases studied. A negative correlation was further determined in those 25 VL cases between the positive intensities of the RKT and antibody levels measured semi-quantitatively with the same procedure (r = -0.36) or the DAT (r = -0.30). Irrespective of the low, moderate or high antibody levels measured with RKT (£1:8 and 1:16-1:32 ³1:256) or DAT (£1:25,600 and 1:51,200- 1:409,600 ³1:3,276,800) in patients with confirmed or unconfirmed VL infection, exclusively strong positive intensities were obtained with RKT. Conclusion: For further optimizing diagnosis and simultaneously assessing magnitude of immune response to L. donovani infection in Sudanese patients, the combined application of RKT and DAT is recom-mended.

In the current study, the performance of helical soil-nailed walls (HSNWs) was evaluated under footing loading using reduced-scale model Tests. For this purpose, sixteen soil-nailed wall models were constructed with different lengths, patterns, and inclinations of the helical nails and then were loaded to failure using the strip footing. The quantitative and qualitative responses of the models to footing loading were identified in terms of the wall displacements, the deformation modes, and the bearing capacity of footing. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique was also used to trace shear bands and identify the failure mechanism. PIV results showed that increasing the nail length, as well as using a square pattern and a 15° angle to install the nails, could be three effective solutions to reduce the penetration depth of the slip surface and, consequently, to limit wedge failure dimensions. Findings also indicated that 15° can be introduced as the optimal inclination for installing helical nails in walls under strip footings to achieve the maximum bearing capacity and minimum lateral wall displacements.

Adjacency and interference of the footings are of importance in geotechnical engineering. Researchers have studied the behavior of adjacent footings by several approaches; however, the load-deformation mechanism used for such footings under unequal and non-simultaneous surcharges has not been explored to date. In this study, two series of experiments were conducted using small-scale 1 g models to investigate the behavior of two adjacent footings under reinforced and unreinforced soil conditions. The footings were installed with di erent side-to-side spacing and placed on loose saturate sand. The ultimate bearing capacity, settlement, and tilting of footings were evaluated when: (1) the footings rested on unreinforced sand and (2) the soil underneath the new footing was reinforced by concrete pedestals. The results indicated that reinforcing the new footing by three concrete pedestals at a spacing to footing's width ratio (S=B) of 0 (i. e., two coherent footings) led to increasing the bearing capacity of the new footing by 67%, compared to that of the unreinforced condition. Moreover, the settlement and tilting of the old footing adjacent to the new footing decreased up to 250% and 600%, respectively, in comparison to those of the unreinforced condition.

Contact dermatitis is an inflammatory skin disease due to contact with different substances and caused by two mechanisms: allergy and irritation. Contact dermatitis is a common skin disease and the most common occupational dermatosis. Differentiating between allergic and irritant contact dermatitis is essential in the identification of etiologic factor(s) and hence, its control and prognosis. This differentiation can be done only by patch Test. Unfortunately, this simple, safe and useful Test is always neglected. We review the basics of patch Test, the method of performance, reading and interpretation of its results, possible side effects and results of studies done with patch Test in different countries.

Producion of efficient antimicrobial drugs against to common human pathogens is one of the most important challenges in the field of medical microbiology. Continuous screening of clinical isolates and survey of antimicrobial resistance pattern is critical.Today, disk diffusion and dilution methods are known as the common antimicrobial susceptibility Testing methods. Disk diffusion method does not render dependable results in determination of antimicrobial susceptibility pattern because this method is semi quantitative. MIC determination by microdilution and macrodilution techniques and recent method “E-Test”, have given interpretable results to researchers. Microdilution and macrodilution methods are also time consuming, expensive and error- prone methods. Whereas E-Test method is one of the means by which we will be able to determine susceptibility pattern of known species in low cost and short time. In this survey, constructing and printing of E-Test, coating of antibiotic on O.H.P film and quality control of constructed E-Tests were performed according to M7 A7 CLSI Standard. In this study quality of required materials for E-Test Production were suitable. Evaluation of constructed strips was performed using standard strain of staphylococcus aureus and reproducibly of results was appreciated.

Background: Trichomoniasis, caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections in the world. Diagnosis of T. vaginalis is performed by different methods, including wet mount, culture, serological methods and PCR, which required laboratory equipments and expert laboratory personnel. The aim of this study was evaluation of immunochromatographic strip Test (Xenostrip-Tv) for diagnosis of vaginal trichomoniasis compared with wet mount and PCR assay.Methods: In this prospective study vaginal swabs were obtained from 100 women with genital complaints demanding a speculum examination, referred to Imam Khomeini and Amir Kabir hospitals in Ahwaz, Khuzestan Province. Samples were first examined by wet mount and Xenostrip-Tv. PCR assay was performed in the next step using TVK3 and TVK7 primers initially. The positive samples were then confirmed by the second PCR assay using TVA5-1 and TVA6 primers. Results: PCR with TVA5-1 and TVA6 primers was determined as gold standard. The wet mount as well as Xenostrip-Tv sensitivity and specificity were 73.3% and 100%, respectively in comparison with gold standard. The sensitivity and specificity of PCR with primers TVK3 and TVK7 were also determined as 100% and 96.6%, respectively. The infection rates were 14% for wet mount and Xenostrip-Tv, 21% for PCR with primers TVK3 plus TVK7 and 19% with the gold standard PCR using TVA5-1 and TVA6 primers. Conclusion: Xenostrip-Tv could be used for diagnosis of vaginal trichomoniasis in regions with no laboratory diagnostic facilities.