BACKGROUND Upon initial infection with mycobacteria, macrophages secrete multiple cytokines and chemokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), to mediate host immune responses against the pathogen. Mycobacteria also induce the production of IL-10 via PKR activation in primary human monocytes and macrophages. As an anti-inflammatory cytokine, over-expressio...

RNase P is a catalytic ribonucleoprotein primarily involved in tRNA biogenesis. Archaeal RNase P comprises a catalytic RNase P RNA (RPR) and at least four protein cofactors (RPPs), which function as two binary complexes (POP5•RPP30 and RPP21• RPP29). Exploiting the ability to assemble a functional Pyrococcus furiosus (Pfu) RNase P in vitro, we examined the role of RPPs in influencing substrate ...

BACKGROUND Reverse sequence screening for syphilis, in which an automatable treponemal assay (enzyme immunoassay [EIA]/chemiluminescence assay [CIA]) is performed first and followed by a nontreponemal test for reactive specimens, has been used increasingly in the United States. The EIA is objective, efficient, and believed to be more sensitive than the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) because treponem...

BACKGROUND Known predictors of neurosyphilis were mainly drawn from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected syphilis patients, which may not be applicable to HIV-negative populations as they have different characteristics, particularly those with neurological symptoms. This study aimed to identify novel predictors of HIV-negative symptomatic neurosyphilis (S-NS). METHODS From June 2005 to...

BACKGROUND The reverse sequence algorithm is often used for prenatal syphilis screening by high-volume laboratories, beginning with a treponemal test such as the chemiluminescence immunoassay (CIA), followed by testing of CIA-positive (CIA(+)) specimens with the rapid plasma reagin test (RPR). The clinical significance of discordant serology (CIA(+)/RPR(-)) for maternal and neonatal outcomes is...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the performance of a point-of-care (POC) syphilis test when used in urban Bolivian maternity hospitals. METHODS We tested 8892 pregnant women for syphilis using the Abbott Determine Syphilis TP rapid POC test and rapid plasma reagin (RPR) in the laboratory of four large urban maternity hospitals where national statistics reported a syphilis prevalence of at least 3%. Ser...

A screening program aimed at the discovery of new antimicrotubule agents yielded RPR112378 and RPR115781, two natural compounds extracted from the Indian plant Ottelia alismoides. We report their isolation, structural determination, and mechanisms of action. RPR112378 is an efficient inhibitor of tubulin polymerization (IC(50) = 1.2 microM) and is able to disassemble preformed microtubules. Reg...

The RNase P RNA catalytic subunit (RPR) encoded in some plastids has been found to be functionally defective. The amoeba Paulinella chromatophora contains an organelle (chromatophore) that is derived from the recent endosymbiotic acquisition of a cyanobacterium, and therefore represents a model of the early steps in the acquisition of plastids. In contrast with plastid RPRs the chromatophore RP...

Top-down instance segmentation framework has shown its superiority in object detection compared to the bottom-up framework. While it is efficient addressing over-segmentation, top-down suffers from over-crop problem. However, a complete mask crucial for biological image analysis as delivers important morphological properties such shapes and volumes. In this paper, we propose region proposal rec...

Reported are the results of a comparative study of two procedures for the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) test for syphilis serology: in one approach a mechanical rotator was used and in the other, hand rotation was employed. Both procedures were performed on 327 sera. The agreement between both was 98.8%. Three sera that exhibited minimal reactivity (titre = 1) in the mechanical-rotation RPR were no...