Pregnant women (n = 859) in rural Cameroonian prenatal clinics were screened by two rapid human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) antibody tests (rapid tests [RT]) (Determine and Hema-Strip) using either whole blood or plasma. One additional RT (Capillus, HIV-CHEK, or Sero-Card) was used to resolve discordant results. RT results were compared with HIV-1 enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and Western blot (WB)...

We have demonstrated the increased C26:0/C22:0 ratio in the fatty acids of sphingolipid fraction in dried blood spots on filter paper from the patient with adrenoleukodystrophy. The ratio of C26:0/C22:0 in the dried blood spots from the patient was 2.1-fold higher than those of the normal controls. This value was almost the same as the ratio in erythrocyte membrane sphingomyelin from the patien...

Epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) have focused primarily on DNA methylation as a chemically stable and functional epigenetic modification. However, the stability and accuracy of the measurement of methylation in different tissues and extraction types is still being actively studied, and the longitudinal stability of DNA methylation in commonly studied peripheral tissues is of great inte...

Introduction. Milligan-Morgan haemorrhoidectomy performed with LigaSure system (LS) seems to be mainly effective where a large tissue demolition is required. This randomized study is designed to compare LigaSure haemorrohidectomy with conventional diathermy (CD) for treatment of IV-degree haemorrhoids. Methods. 52 patients with IV-degree haemorrhoids were randomized to two groups (conventional ...

INTRODUCTION Prevention of acute HIV infections in pregnancy is required to achieve elimination of pediatric HIV. Identification and support for HIV negative pregnant women and their partners, particularly serodiscordant couples, are critical. A mixed method study done in Southern Mozambique estimated HIV incidence during pregnancy, associated risk factors and factors influencing partner's HIV ...

Although humans are considered unusual among mammals for the intensity of care that fathers often provide offspring, little is known about the hormonal architecture regulating human paternal investment. Prolactin has important reproductive functions in both female and male mammals and other taxa, making it a candidate regulator of human paternal behavior. Notably, prolactin is higher during per...

Lead in maternal blood can cross the placenta and result in elevated blood lead levels in newborns, potentially producing negative effects on neurocognitive function, particularly if combined with childhood lead exposure. Little research exists, however, into the burden of elevated blood lead levels in newborns, or the places and populations in which elevated lead levels are observed in newborn...

A comparison of the ELISA test with the newly-developed MLPA test was carried out, using eluates of blood spots from filter paper for the detection of the anti-PGL-I antibody. A very good positive correlation was observed between these two tests. The concordance rate was found to be 92.6%, ranging from 71.4% to 100%. This nonconcordance was not found when freshly-collected samples were used. Th...

An expanded global focus on the control and elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has called attention to the need to develop and validate surveillance strategies that are cost effective and can be integrated across diseases. Here, we describe a multiplex tool for the sensitive detection of antibody responses to NTDs as well as vaccine preventable diseases, malaria, and waterborne a...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We tested dried blood from an ABO bedside test card which had been stored at room temperature for 12 years, to prove that a patient with HIV-1 infection had been infected by blood transfusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS Immunoblots for HIV-1 antibodies and threefold PCRs with half-nested primers for the HIV-1 integrase gene were done with eluates from the dried blood spot...