introduction: there is no single test as a gold standard for the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis (ar). the aim of this study was to assess the usefulness and validity of nasal smear as a quick, easy and inexpensive diagnostic method for diagnosis of allergic rhinitis. materials and methods: this study was conducted in a university hospital setting. nasal smears were taken from 39 patients with a...

organisms. Analytical sensitivity was determined using titered, purified CT elementary bodies and cultured NG cells. Results The Xpert CT/NG assay detects all CT serovars, new variant CT, and 48 geographically diverse NG strains. The CT primers and probes do not cross-react with DNA or RNA from non-trachomal species. All non-gonococcal Neisseria species yielded negative results, including N. mu...

The adhC gene from 11 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae was distinguished from its homologue in Neisseria meningitidis by the presence of a premature stop codon caused by a single base insertion. Mutational analysis showed that NADH S-nitrosoglutathione oxidoreductase activity was associated with adhC in Neisseria meningitidis but not in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

A new generation of vaccines containing multiple protein components that aim to provide broad protection against serogroup B meningococci has been developed. One candidate, 4CMenB (4 Component MenB), has been approved by the European Medicines Agency, but is predicted to provide at most 70-80 % strain coverage; hence there is a need for second-generation vaccines that achieve higher levels of c...

Endosymbionts influence many aspects of their hosts' health conditions, including physiology, development, immunity, metabolism, etc. Tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) have attracted increasing attention in modeling human diseases and therapeutic responses due to their close relationship with primates. To clarify the situation of symbiotic bacteria from their body surface, oral cavity, a...

background there is a dearth of epidemiologic studies that provide important information to understand the incidence, prevalence and severity of oral lesions in patients with tuberculosis (tb). objectives this study aimed to determine the prevalence of oral mucosal lesions and adverse habits among hospitalized tb patients. patients and methods the study was conducted on all the tb patients (n =...

The throat is an ecological assemblage involved human cells and microbiota, and the colonizing bacteria are important factors in balancing this environment. However, this bacterial community profile has thus been poorly investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the microbial biology of the larynx and to analyze the throat biodiversity in laryngeal carcinoma patients compared to...

The genome of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B strain MC58 contains three genes - nmb0278, nmb0294 and nmb0407 - encoding putative homologues of DsbA, a periplasmic thiol disulphide oxidoreductase protein-folding catalyst of the Dsb protein family. DsbA assists the folding of periplasmic and membrane proteins in diverse organisms. While all three cloned genes complemented the DTT sensitivity ...

The porin proteins of the pathogenic Neisseria species, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitidis, are important as serotyping antigens, putative vaccine components, and for their proposed role in the intracellular colonization of humans. A three-dimensional structural homology model for Neisseria porins was generated from Escherichia coli porin structures and N. meningitidis PorA and Po...

background: the health risks of crack cocaine smoking on the oral mucosa has not been widely researched and documented. objective: the purpose of this study was to analyze the proliferative activity of oral epithelial cells exposed to crack cocaine smoke using silver nucleolar organizer region (agnor) staining. methods: oral smears were collected from clinically normal-appearing buccal mucosa b...