Evaluation of the modern Contact CMV IgG IgM and IgG Avidity II assays

Identification of miRNAs in sEVs also provides the opportunity to track them in biological fluids to potentially determine patient response to chemotherapy. Quality-by-design (QbD) approach has been applied to optimize lipid-based nanosystems formulations, including solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN), nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) and nanoemulsions, besides being increasingly requested by regulatory authorities. Different mathematical models and statistical tests have been used, with similar conclusions regarding the parameters that influence the physical features of the resulting nanosystems. These include, variations in composition (e.g. Dapagliflozin lipid(s) and/or emulsifier(s)) and manufacturing parameters (e.g. emulsification rate and/or time, sonication amplitude and/or time, and homogenization pressure and/or cycles). These are critical parameters that influence nanoparticle/globule mean size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, drug encapsulation efficiency and in vitro drug release. This review addresses the concepts and applications of QbD for the development of lipid-based nanosystems, reporting successful examples published in the last 2years. Although, some limitations have been identified, it is expected that in the upcoming years the application of QbD in pharmaceutical development will be an established approach. Background; The parasite Toxoplasma gondii (Tg) can cause congenital toxoplasmosis following primary infection in a pregnant woman. It is therefore important to distinguish between recent and past infection when both Tg-specific IgM and IgG are detected in a single serum in pregnant women. Tg-specific IgG avidity testing is an essential tool to help to date the infection. However, interpretation of its results can be complex. OBJECTIVES To review Tg-specific avidity testing benefits and limitations in pregnant women, in order to help practitioners to interpret the results and adapt the patient management. SOURCES PubMed search with the keywords avidity, toxoplasmosis and Toxoplasma gondii for articles published from 1989 to 2019. CONTENT Tg-specific IgG avidity testing remains a key tool for dating a Tg infection in immunocompetent pregnant women. Several commercial assays are available and display comparable performances. A high avidity result obtained on a first-trimester serum sample is indicative of a past infection, which occurred before pregnancy. To date, a low avidity result must still be considered as non-informative to date the infection, although some authors suggested that very low avidity results are highly suggestive of recent infections depending on the assay. Interpretation of low or grey zone avidity results on a first-trimester serum sample, as well as any avidity result on a second or third-trimester serum sample, is more complex and requires recourse to expert toxoplasmosis laboratories. IMPLICATIONS Although used for about 30 years, Tg-specific avidity testing has scarcely evolved. The same difficulties in interpretation have persisted over the years. Some authors proposed additional thresholds to exclude an infection of less than 9 months, or in contrast to confirm a recent infection. Such thresholds would be of great interest to adapt management of pregnant women and avoid unnecessary treatment however, they need confirmation and further studies. Cryptosporidium and Giardia are ubiquitous protozoan parasites that infect a broad range of hosts. The presence of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis was detected in 355 fecal samples of laboratory experimental rats from four experimental rat rearing facilities in China by PCR amplification of the small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene. The G. duodenalis positive samples were further characterized in the β-giardin (bg), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) genes. The overall infection rates of Cryptosporidium spp. and G. duodenalis were 0.6% (2/355) and 9.3% (33/355), respectively, with no co-infection. Among the four facilities, only the rats in Zhengzhou1 were found positive for the two pathogens. Undetermined Cryptosporidium genotype was observed in one sample and C. ubiquitum in another sample. Assemblage G was identified in all the 33 G. duodenalis positive isolates at SSU rRNA gene, out of which 19, 20, and 21 isolates were also subtyped as assemblage G at tpi, gdh and bg gens, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Cryptosporidium and G. duodenalis infections in laboratory experimental rats in China. The infections of these pathogens in laboratory animals should be monitored routinely since they may interfere the biological experiments in these animals. V.Giardia duodenalis is a common intestinal protozoa, which can cause the occurrence of diarrhea, weight loss, and even death in animals or human, this threatens the husbandry industry and public health. It can infect virtually humans and all domestic animals including sheep. Tan sheep is one of the most important sheep breeds, which is short-tailed indigenous sheep breed used for production of high quality meat and pelts in China. However, there are no report regarding the occurrence and multilocus genotyping of G. duodenalis in Tan sheep in northwestern China. Thus, the objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and multilocus genotypes of G. duodenalis in Tan sheep. 1014 fecal samples were collected from Tan sheep from Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and three loci (β-giardin (bg), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh) and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) genes) were amplified by nested PCR. The prevalence of G. duodenalis in Tan sheep was 14.5% (147/1014), two assemblages (assemblage A, n = 43; and E, n = 90) were detected, including one novel assemblage A at bg locus, one novel assemblage A at tpi locus, and 10 and 11 novel subtypes of assemblage E were detected at the bg and gdh loci, respectively. One MLGs was formed based on sequence variation among the three loci. Moreover, 9 Tan sheep were infected with two assemblages (A and E) based on the three loci. These findings expand the host range of G. duodenalis and revealed genetic diversity of G. duodenalis assemblages in Tan sheep.