This study evaluated and compared the performance of two real-time PCR assays using nested reverse transcription (RT)-PCR as the reference method. Among 117 nested RT-PCR-positive cases, the abTES DEN 5 qPCR kit detected 97.4% of dengue virus (DENV) infections, while the innuDETECT Dengue TwoStep assay did so for 44.4%. Sensitivity varied by infecting serotype and the stage of infection. The ab...

Antimony tilt implantation has been utilized for source and drain extension formation of n-MOSFETs. The tilt implantation is a very convenient method to provide adequate overlap between the extensions and a gate electrode. MOSFET drive current was effectively improved by the tilt implantation without degrading short channel effects. key words: MOSFET, extension, gate, overlap, tilt implantation...

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and distribution of Chlamydia trachomatisgenotypes in Shiraz, Iran. Two hundred twelve cervical swab samples were collected from women attendingShahid Motahari Polyclinic in Shiraz, Iran. The endocervical specimens were screened for C. trachomatis byplasmid PCR. Genotyping was performed in C. trachomatis-positive samples by nested PCR ...

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is a retrovirus responsible for lymphoproliferative disorders in cattle. Although infections of BLV in animals are well known, little is known about its capacity to infect humans. This study investigated the presence of anti-BLV antibodies and BLV proviruses in human and cattle samples. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect anti-BL...

The herpes simplex viruses types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) can cause life-threatening infections of the central nervous system and lead to severe infections in immunocompromised subjects and newborns. In these cases, rapid diagnosis is crucial. We developed three different real-time PCR assays based on TaqMan chemistry for the LightCycler instrument to detect HS...

INTRODUCTION Paracoccidioidomycosis is a systemic infection caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. METHODS In this study, a semi-nested PCR for paracoccidioidomycosis diagnosis was developed. The primers ITS1 and ITS4 were used in the first reaction, while the primers MJ03 and ITS1 primer were used in the second reaction. The semi-nested PCR was used to investigate biopsies of five patients...

We have previously constructed recombinants encoding the full-length and truncated forms of cystatin-SN and expressed these in the Escherichia coli expression system pGEX-2T, which expresses foreign sequences as fusion proteins with glutathione S-transferase (GST). Recombinant cystatins were produced and purified in large quantities. The full-length recombinant cystatin-SN exhibited comparable ...

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is an etiologic agent of respiratory tract infections. In this study, we compared the sensitivity and specificity of real-time reverse transcription (RT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR), conventional RT-PCR, and nested PCR in detecting hMPV genes. A total of 146 clinical specimens from 143 patients who showed acute respiratory tract infection symptoms were tested by...