INTRODUCTION Dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever currently rank highly among the newly-emerging infectious diseases, and are considered to be the most important arboviral disease worldwide. The definitive diagnosis is culture analysis, but practical considerations limit its use. Also, the period for viral detection is limited. Within a day or two after fever subsides, rising levels of an...

Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) conducted in real time is a powerful tool for measuring messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in biological samples. Multiplex PCR is defined as the simultaneous amplification of two or more DNA (cDNA) targets in a single reaction vessel and may be carried out only using uniquely labeled probes for each target. Up to four genes can be...

BACKGROUND Characterization of fusion gene transcripts in leukemia that result from chromosome translocations provides valuable information regarding appropriate treatment and prognosis. However, screening for multiple fusion gene transcripts is difficult with conventional PCR and state-of-the-art real-time PCR and high-density microarrays. METHODS We developed a multiplex reverse transcripti...

BACKGROUND Accurate quantitative assessment of infection with soil transmitted helminths and protozoa is key to the interpretation of epidemiologic studies of these parasites, as well as for monitoring large scale treatment efficacy and effectiveness studies. As morbidity and transmission of helminth infections are directly related to both the prevalence and intensity of infection, there is par...

Various biological and clinical applications require the quantification of the messenger RNA (mRNA) abundance of the biological materials under investigation. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a popular technique for mRNA quantification. However, in these applications, multiple quantifications of mRNA are required from the same sample. Multiplex RT-PCR uses multiple pr...

Many real-world complex systems are best modeled by multiplex networks. The multiplexity has proved to have broad impact on the system’s structure and function. Most theoretical studies on multiplex networks to date, however, have largely ignored the effect of link overlap across layers despite strong empirical evidences for its significance. In this article, we investigate the effect of link o...

Acute bacterial meningitis is a medical emergency, and delays in initiating effective antimicrobial therapy result in increased morbidity and mortality. Culture-based methods, thus far considered the "gold standard" for identifying bacterial microorganisms, require 24 to 48 h to provide a diagnosis. In addition, antimicrobial therapy is often started prior to clinical sample collection, thereby...

We utilized one-step multiplex reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and Luminex xMAP technology to develop a respiratory multiplex liquid-chip assay (rMLA) for simultaneous detection of 6 common respiratory viruses, including influenza virus type A (FluA) and type B (FluB), para-influenza virus type 3 (PIV-3), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (MPV) and a threatening virus ...

Blood samples from dogs with clinical signs compatible with ehrlichiosis were examined for infection of Ehrlichia canis using PCR, multiplex real-time PCR, and DNA sequencing analysis. Eleven of 25 samples were positive for a new strain of E. canis. This is the first molecular identification of E. canis infection in dogs from Peru.

Failure of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) real-time PCR assay targeting glycoprotein B (gB) was investigated. A multiplex assay targeting gB and immediate-early 2 (IE2) genes showed discordant results (gB negative and IE positive or a >10-fold-higher viral load with IE primers) in saliva from 14.6% of CMV-infected newborns. Sequencing revealed 3 patterns of gB variations.