The Xpert MTB/RIF assay was introduced for timely and accurate detection of tuberculosis (TB). The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy and turnaround time (TAT) of Xpert MTB/RIF assay in clinical practice in South Korea. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients in whom Xpert MTB/RIF assay using sputum were requested. The sensitivity, specificity, positi...

OBJECTIVES Mutations in the β-subunit of RNA polymerase (RNAP), encoded by rpoB, are responsible for rifampicin resistance (Rif(R)). Although many mutations in rpoB can reduce susceptibility, only a few are frequent amongst Rif(R) clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates. It has been suggested that there is a negative correlation between the fitness costs of Rif(R) mutations and their...

Thyroid autoimmunity (TAI), which is defined as the presence of autoantibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPO) and/or thyroglobulin (TG), is related to repeated implantation failure (RIF). It is reported that TAI was involved in reproductive failure not only through leading thyroid function abnormality, but it can also be accompanied with immune imbalance. Therefore, this study was designed to...

This paper studies the performance of different algorithms for solving a dense symmetric indefinite linear system of equations on multicore CPUs with a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). To ensure the numerical stability of the factorization, pivoting is required. Obtaining high performance of such algorithms on the GPU is difficult because all the existing pivoting strategies lead to frequent syn...

Present study deals with the hepatoprotective activity of polyherbal formulation Hepatoplus (HP) as an oral supplement to the INH and RIF induced hepatitis in experimental rats. Rats treated with INH and RIF show abnormal liver function with significant increase in serum transaminases, bilirubin and clotting time (CT) and significant decrease in total protein and Albumin, which is brings to nea...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the performance of FASTPlaqueTB-RIF, a newly introduced bacteriophage assay for rapid detection of rifampicin susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum specimens. METHODS A comparative study of 40 sputum specimens from patients of pulmonary tuberculosis, using FASTPlaqueTB-RIF and Bactec 460 TB system carried out at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, R...

A new algorithm of Demmel et al. for computing the singular value decomposition (SVD) to high relative accuracy begins by computing a rank-revealing decomposition (RRD). Demmel et al. analyse the use of Gaussian elimination with complete pivoting (GECP) for computing the RRD. We investigate the use of QR factorization with complete pivoting (that is, column pivoting together with row sorting or...

Introduction: The Xpert MTB/RIF is recommended by the World Health Organization as a first line rapid test for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB); however, China does not routinely use this test, partially due to the lack of a sufficient number of systematic evaluations of this assay in local patients. The aims of this study were to comprehensively assess the diagnostic performance of...

Populations of red imported fire ants (RIFA; Solenopsis invtcta) have spread rapidly throughout 'the southeastern United States. RIF A, directly or indirectly, negatively affect many wildlife species, _ and northern bobwhite (Col'inus virginianus) appear to be particularly susceptible. We examined the effect of exposure to different numbers of RIF A for 15 and 60 seconds on body mass and surviv...

Many environmental bacteria are multidrug-resistant and represent a reservoir of ancient antibiotic resistance determinants, which have been linked to genes found in pathogens. Exploring the environmental antibiotic resistome, therefore, reveals the diversity and evolution of antibiotic resistance and also provides insight into the vulnerability of clinically used antibiotics. In this study, we...