Accurate diagnosis of orthopedic device-associated infections can be challenging. Culture of tissue biopsy specimens is often considered the gold standard; however, there is currently no consensus on the ideal incubation time for specimens. The aim of our study was to assess the yield of a 14-day incubation protocol for tissue biopsy specimens from revision surgery (joint replacements and inter...

West Nile virus (Flaviviridae: Flavivirus) is a serious infectious disease that recently spread across the North America continent. A spatial analysis tool was developed on the ArcMap 9.x platform to estimate potential West Nile virus activity using a spatially explicit degree-day model. The model identifies when the virus Extrinsic Incubation Period (EIP) is completed within the vector longevi...

Platelet activating factor (PAF) is a novel signaling phospholipids that in addition to platelet activation has many biological properties. The acrosome reaction, as an essential step in mammalian fertilization, can occur in response to several agents such as PAF. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the effect of PAF on the motility and acrosome reaction of ram spermatozoa. Semen was c...

Background: Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) refers to a group of gram-positive bacteria that are genetically distinct from other strains has developed, through horizontal gene transfer, natural selection and multiple drug resistance beta lactam antibiotics thus causing many severe diseases which very problematic treat as they different antibiotics. The above situation is furt...