We congratulate Sinha and colleagues on their recent report (1) comparing fecal sample collection methods for epidemiologic studies of the gut microbiome. These data contribute to the increasing body of literature describing robust methodologic frameworks for specimen collection and processing (2, 3). However, their claim that fixation of stool using RNAlater results in "considerable changes to...

A rotor that accepts and automatically processes a bulk aliquot of a single blood sample into multiple aliquots of plasma has been designed and built. The rotor consists of a central processing unit, which includes a disk containing eight precision-bore capillaries. By varying the internal diameters of the capillaries, aliquot volumes ranging 1 to 10 mul can be prepared. In practice, an unmeasu...

preparations of platelet concentrates (pcs) that are stored under blood bank conditions and used for transfusion purposes, appear to be enriched in platelet derived-microparticles (pmps) with high coagulant activity that may change platelet efficacy and safety issues. high shear stress could cause shedding of pmps from the platelet plasma membrane, platelet aggregation, and activation of the co...

Many of the landmark discoveries with regard to the etiology, 2. Gram staining for gonorrhea, non-gonococcal urethritis, pathogenesis and epidemiology of sexually transmitted chancroid, bacterial vaginosis infections (STIs) occurred with the use of various diagnostic 3. Tzanck smear for herpes genitalis, donovanosis, techniques many years ago.[1] However, the concept of molluscum contagiosum pr...

We study the logistics of specimen collection for a clinical testing laboratory that serves sites dispersed in an urban area. The specimens that accumulate at the customer sites throughout the working day are transported to the laboratory for processing. The problem is to construct and schedule a series of tours to collect the accumulated specimens from the sites throughout the day. Two hierarc...

In this issue ofClinical Infectious Diseases, we present the first article in a series entitled .'Diagnostic Microbiology Updates. " Although clinical microbiology is included in the curricula ofvirtually all infectious diseasefellowships, the degree ofemphasis on this subject varies considerably. Infectious disease physicianseven those who have direct responsibities or consulting responsibilit...

in the framework of collection and identification of bolete fungi of iran, one specimen from the genus strobilomyces was collected and identified as strobilomyces strobilaceus (scop.) berk., based on knudsen & vesterholt (2008).

Objective: This study aims to estimate and compare the time-course change in blood glucose levels by blood cells in serum, and plasma with or without preservatives, which may reflect the rate of glucose utilization by blood cells. Method: This laboratory-based cross-sectional study was carried out using a blood specimen of 28 participants among which 14 were diagnosed with diabetes and 14 were...

We examined the sensitive assay for carboxyhemoglobin based on reaction with K3Fe(CN)6 and gas chromatography of the liberated CO. Our improvements included increased baseline stability, shorter analysis time, and simpler standardization. EDTA-containing Vacutainer Tubes (lavender-stoppered) increase the carboxyhemoglobin content of blood stored in them. The carboxyhemoglobin content of blood s...