Diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in children by the tuberculin skin test (TST) poses a diagnostic challenge for physicians due to its low specificity and cross-reactivity with nontuberculous mycobacteria and bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG). Although interferon-gamma release assays (IGRAs) have been shown as novel TST alternatives for diagnosis of latent TB infection (LTBI) in adults, their effectiv...

OBJECTIVE Interferon-γ and IP-10 release assays are diagnostic tests for tuberculosis infection. We have compared the accuracy of IP-10 and QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube [QFT-IT] in Tanzanian children suspected of having active tuberculosis (TB). METHODS Hospitalized Tanzanian children with symptoms of TB were tested with the QFT-IT and IP-10 tests and retrospectively classified into diagnostic...

BACKGROUND/METHODS Quantiferon-TB-Gold in Tube(®) test (QFT-G-IT) may have advantages if combined with TST when screening for Latent Tuberculosis Infection (LTBI) prior to initiating anti-TNF therapy in an area of intermediate tuberculosis incidence such as Spain. In a small-scale prospective study, we evaluate the use of QFT-G-IT in combination with the screening recommended in Spain (Tubercul...

TO THE EDITOR—Eighteen million US healthcare workers (HCWs) undergo mandatory annual screening for latent tuberculosis [1]. Screening is also performed in tuberculosis contacts, immunocompromised patients, and other individuals employed in the public sector. Many institutions have switched from the tuberculin skin test to the Quantiferon (QFT) assay for latent tuberculosis screening. In recent ...

Background. The detection of latent tuberculosis (TB) is essential for TB control, but T-cell assay might be influenced by degree of immunosuppression. The relationship between immunocompetence and interferon (IFN)-γ response in QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT) is uncertain, especially in HIV-negative populations. Methods and Results. QFT has been performed for healthy subjects and TB suspected patien...

Occupational latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among health care workers (HCWs) is an important public health issue. The objective of this study is to assess prevalence and risk factors of LTBI among Japanese HCWs by Quantiferon-TB Gold in Tube (QFT-GIT) and the structured questionnaire. This is a cross-sectional study involving HCWs from a hospital without tuberculosis-specific wards, recei...

This paper presents a robust controller design for a Brush less DC motor by using Quantitative Feedback Theory [1] and its comparison with different control techniques. The different types of controller design techniques for a Brush Less DC motor involves (i) Fuzzy logic controller (ii)Genetic Algorithm based controller (iii)QFT Controller. The design of QFT controller involves preparation of p...

It has previously been established that the logarithmic-depth approximate quantum Fourier transform (AQFT) provides a suitable replacement for the regular QFT in many quantum algorithms. Since the AQFT is less accurate by definition, polynomially many more applications of the AQFT are required to achieve the original accuracy. However, in many quantum algorithms, the smaller size of the AQFT ci...

This paper presents a digital color image watermarking scheme using the hypercomplex numbers representation and the Quaternion Fourier Transform (QFT). Previous color image watermarking methods are first presented and the quaternion representation is then described. In this framework RGB pixel values are associated with an unique quaternion number having three imaginary parts. The QFT is presen...

BACKGROUND BCG-vaccination can confound tuberculin skin test (TST) reactions in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection. METHODS We compared the TST with a Mycobacterium tuberculosis specific whole blood interferon-gamma assay (QuantiFERON-TB-Gold In Tube; QFT-G) during ongoing investigations among close contacts of sputum smear positive source cases in Hamburg, Germany. RESULTS Duri...