BACKGROUND Sputum microscopy is the only diagnostic for tuberculosis (TB) available at peripheral levels of health service in resource-poor countries. Its sensitivity is reduced in high HIV-prevalence settings. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) specimen sedimentation prior microscopy and light-emitting diode (LED)-fluorescence microscopy (FM) can individually improve performance of microscopy. This s...

materials and methods a total of 228 fecal samples were collected from residents of rural areas of hamadan, west of iran. each fecal sample was divided into two parts, one kept frozen at -20˚c for ag-capture elisa and the other in 10% formalin for the ap staining method. cryptosporidium ag-detection elisa procedure was performed according to the manual of the manufacturer. the preserved samples...

Thirty acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients with mycobacterial bacteremia documented by Du Pont Isolator (Du Pont Co., Wilmington, Del.) blood cultures underwent microscopic examination of buffy coat blood smears. Of 30 patients, 14 were culture positive for Mycobacterium avium-Mycobacterium intracellulare complex and 1 was positive for M. tuberculosis. Of 15 culture-positive patients, 1...

Andisol has a large surface area, is mesoporous, and contains the active groups' silanol (Si-OH) aluminol (Al-OH). Besides andisol, cellulose good adsorbent, because microcrystalline an hydroxyl group (OH). The number of adsorbent groups can be enhanced by chemically modifying area (increment), or adding other materials. These modifications included alkaline modified-andisol with addition NaOH ...

A Cyto-Tek staining machine designed for Papanicolau staining of cervical smears has been adapted for auramine staining of smears of sputum and other clinical specimens for acid-fast bacilli. The results compared favourably with those obtained by a manual method of staining. Contamination of negative smears by acid-fast bacilli from positive smears was not found. Since this study the machine ha...

The principles and techniques involved in fluorescence microscopy as related to the demonstration of acid-fast bacilli are discussed. The auramine-rhodamine staining method, for both tissue and bacteriological preparations, is described as well as the necessary equipment for both microscopy and photomicroscopy. Fluorescence staining is no more difficult nor time consuming than a Ziehl-Neelsen s...