procalcitonin (pct) is a prohormone that has been used as a marker for the diagnosis of bacterial infections. the aim of this study was to survey pct levels in patients with cirrhosis. sixty-four patients with hepatic cirrhosis and 32 healthy blood donors were enrolled in this study. serum pct levels was detected using immunoluminometric assay. the rate of positive pct was higher in patients wi...

Introduction C exposure to contaminated air and frequent aspiration of nasopharyngeal flora make lung parenchyma susceptible to virulent micro-organisms. Most microorganisms reach lower respiratory tract as inhaled and contaminated micro droplets. Complex interactions between virulence and quantum of aspirated or inhaled microorganisms, that arrive at lower respiratory tract, integrity of defen...

OBJECTIVE This study evaluated the effects of ultrasound combined with the homemade nitric oxide (NO) micro-bubble destruction on the in vitro proliferation, apoptosis, and migration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Furthermore, we studied whether or not irradiation of the NO micro-bubble combined with bone-marrow derived MSC infusion had a better effect on treating myocardial infarction. The ...

We investigated the significance of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by fungi treated with miconazole. ROS production in Candida albicans was measured by a real-time fluorogenic assay. The level of ROS production was increased by miconazole at the MIC (0.125 micro g/ml) and was enhanced further in a dose-dependent manner, with a fourfold increase detected when miconazole was us...

the plants of the genus salvia synthesize several types of secondary metabolites with antimicrobial, cytotoxic, and radical scavenging activities and are used in the folk medicine of different countries. eleven salvia species including s. aegyptiaca, s. aethiopis, s. atropatana, s. eremophila, s. hypoleuca, s. limbata, s. nemorosa, s. santolinifolia, s. sclarea, s. syriaca, and s. xanthocheila ...

The rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT) is routinely used in the United States to measure rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (rVNA). RFFIT has a long history of reproducible and reliable results. The test has been modified over the years to use smaller volumes of reagents and samples, but requires a 50 μL minimum volume of test serum. To conduct pathogenesis studies, small laborat...

OBJECTIVE To establish the cut-off values of GH measured by immunofluorometric assay, a more sensitive and specific assay, in normal prepubertal children and compare their values with those of proven GH-deficient patients. METHODS 30 normal children (20 males) and 26 patients with known causes of GH deficiency were submitted to the clonidine test and their GH values were compared. A powdered ...