Predictive value of serologic tests in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with paracoccidioidomycosis

A serologic study was undertaken in a group of 43 patients with active paracoccidioidomycosis who were treated in the same form (ketoconazole), for identical periods of time (6 months), and folio wed-up for various periods posttherapy. The tests employed were agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) and complement fixation (FC). Also studied were 50 sera from patients with proven histoplasmosis and pulmonary aspergilloma, 30 patients with culturaly proven tuberculosis as well as 92 specimens from healthy individuals, residents in the endemic area for paracoccidioidomycosis. A single lot of yeast filtrate antigen was used throughout the study. The value of each test was measured according to GALEN and GAMBINO6. Both tests were highly sensitive, 89 and 93% respectively. Regarding their specificity, the AGID was totally specific while the CF exhibited 96.6% and 97% specificity in front of tuberculosis patients and healthy individuals respectively and 82% in comparison with patients with other mycoses. The concept of predictive value, that is, the certainty one has in accepting a positive test as diagnostic of paracoccidioidomycosis, favored the AGID procedure (100%) over the CF test. The latter could sort out with 93% certainty a patient with paracoccidioidomycosis among a group of healthy individuals and with 97.5% in the case of TB patients; when the group in question was composed by individuals with other deep mycoses, such certainty was lower (81%). The above results indicate that both the AGID and the CF tests furnish results of high confidence; one should not relay, however, in the CF alone as a means to establish the specific diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis.

Antibody response to heat-inactivated hepatitis B vaccine (CLB-3mg) in hemodialysis patients and occupational risk personnel: a one year follow-up

Immune response against hepatitis B vaccine (CLB 3mg) was evaluated in 59 hemodialysis patients and 20 occupational risk personnel. Seroconversion was induced in 52.5% and 70.0% respectively. Twelve months after the first dose, 37.5% of patients and 60.0% of occupational risk personnel had detectable anti-HBs level. Antibody level was expressed in sample ratio units (SRU). Considering only the responders, in the patients group 38.7% had a low anti-HBs response (2.1-9.9 SRU) 32.3% a medium response (10-99.9 SRU) and 29.0% a high response (>100 SRU) while in occupational risk personnel these values were 14.3%, 64.3% and 21.4% respectively. The authors suggest the use of HBV vaccines with more elevated HBsAg concentration or a reinforced immunization schedule to improve the anti-HBs response not only for patients but also for healthy persons.

Passive haemagglutination test for human neurocysticercosis immunodiagnosis: II - Comparison of two standardized procedures for the passive haemagglutination reagent in the detection of anti-Cysticercus cellulosae antibodies in cerebrospinal fluids

A comparison of two different standardized reagent procedures for the passive haemagglutination test (PHA) in the detection of specific antibody to Cysticercus cellulosae in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was carried out. The formaldehyde-treated group O Rh-human red blood cells (HuRBC) and glutaraldehyde-treated sheep red blood cells (SRBC) were the supplies for the reagents preparation and, in the tests, they were designated as PHA-1 and PHA-2, respectively. For both reagents the cells were coated with the cysticerci total saline extract (TS) antigen. PHA-1 and PHA-2 were assessed in a total of 204 CSF from patients with neurocysticercosis, from non-related infections and from healthy individuals. The positivity and specificity indices obtained were respectively 81.7% and 94.4% for PHA-1 and for PHA-2, 88.7% and 96.6%. Since no significant differences were observed between the results provided by two reagents, at level of significance of 0.05, either processes of cell sensitization can alternatively be used according to the own laboratory convenience.

Immunofluorescent antibody to rotavirus and antigen excretion in infantile acute diarrhoea

A serological study was carried out to evaluate the causal relationship of acute diarrhoea and rotavirus in children under five years of age. The rotaviral infection was demonstrated in paired sera by determining the antibody titers by immunofluorescence test (IF). Bovine rotavirus-infected MA-104 cell culture was used as substratum for IF. Out of 80 paired sera it was shown that 23 (28.75%) presented seroconversion, 19 (23.75%) samples showed a twofold increase in their titers and 38 (47.5%) had no increase in rotavirus antibody. This result is discussed on the light of previously obtained results on viral antigen detection by counterimmunoelectrosmophoresis (CIEOP).

Soroepidemiologia retrospectiva dO HIV-1

Amostras de soro de grupos populacionais dos Estados do Pará e Goiás, coletados entre 1974 e 1980, foram testadas (ELISA, imunofluorescência e immunoblot) para a presença de anticorpos contra o vírus da imunodeficiência humana tipo-1 (HIV-1). O objetivo principal foi de se mapear epidemiologicamente a ocorrência deste vírus em um período anterior a detecção da presente epidemia. Quatro amostras dos índios Xicrin foram positivas pelo teste de ELISA, porém não foram confirmadas pelos demais testes. Os resultados negativos sugerem a ausência de circulação do HIV-1, nos grupos testados, no período pré-1980.

Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay: determination of anti-adenovirus antibodies in an infant population

In order to define an accurate assay for anti-adenovirus antibody detection, a recently developed ELISA was compared with IFA and CF. On 58 sera, the ELISA was more sensitive than both CF and IFA, which showed relative sensitivities of 63% and 94%, respectively. It was not possible to determine the exact specificity of the tests because of the lack of a gold standard. Furthermore, the ELISA was used to define the prevalence of adenovirus antibodies in 116 infants between 1 and 24 months old (mean 7.28). The data showed that maternal antibodies waned by the age of 5 to 6 months and that more than 80% of the children had been infected by adenoviruses by the age of 10 months.

The prevalence of antibody to human parvovirus B19 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

During 1985 and 1986 serum samples were collected from the Rio de Janeiro population and examined for the presence of IgG antibody to human parvovirus B19. No difference in prevalence was found between males and females. Antibody prevalence rose from 35% in children less than five years old to almost 80% in children aged eleven to fifteen years. The antibody prevalence in individuals over 50 years old was over 90%.

Serological studies on shistosomiasis mansoni in the Northeast Brasil

Sera from the patients (N = 10) with schistosomiasis mansoni of the hospital of Federal University of Pernambuco, the Schistosoma mansoni egg-positive (N = 51) and -negative (N = 452) inhabitants in Cabo City area, out-patients (N = 37) of the IMIP hospital and Japanese immigrants (N = 127) in Petrolina City area of northeast Brazil as well as Japanese healthy subjects (N = 30) were examined by serological tests including an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with antigens prepared from eggs (ELISA-egg) and adult worms (ELISA-adult). The ELISA with egg or adult antigen correctly identified 100% of the uninfected individuals lived in non-endemic area of schistosomiasis. Moreover, when examined cross-reactivity of our ELISA with sera isolated from 78 subjects infected with various intestinal parasitic infections, only one of these sera reacted with the egg and adult antigens. On the examination of 51 sera from the egg-positive subjects, the ELISA-egg revealed the highest sensitivity (98.0%), whereas a large number of false negative reactions of ELISA-adult, Ouchterlony method using adult antigen, circumoval precipitation and immediate intradermal skin test were observed. A low sensitivity of these serologic tests except for ELISA-egg appears to be primarily due to their inability to detect antibody in the sera from egg-positive infantiles. There was no positive correlation between the absorbance values of these two types of ELISA among the sera isolated from ELISA-positive subjects. Rather, by the reactivity of these sera to egg or adult antigen, they could be divided into two subgroups; one reacted more positively with egg antigen and the other with adult antigen. Moreover, it was confirmed that the sera from young subjects (under 20 years old) appear to be highly reactive to the egg antigen than did aged ones. These data suggest that the ELISA with egg antigen, but not with the adult antigen, appears to be useful for the serological survey of schistosomiasis mansoni in the endemic area of northeast Brazil.

Soropositividade para HIV em doentes de herpes zoster

Os autores estudam a relação de zoster com soropositividade para HIV. Foram testados soros de 66 pacientes (31 homens e 35 mulheres) com quadro agudo de zoster, usando-se o método de ELISA para detectar anticorpos anti-HIV. Não houve seleção dos pacientes, evitando assim lidar com amostra viciada. Entre os 7 HIV +, 6 pertenciam a grupo de risco para AIDS, todos eram do sexo masculino e seis tinham idade entre 19 e 39 anos (idade média de 31,7 anos). Os resultados sugerem que o diagnóstico de herpes zoster em pacientes jovens não se vincule necessariamente à infecção pelo HIV. Quando, no entanto, o doente pertence a grupo de risco para AIDS, independentemente de sua idade, existe associação estatisticamente significativa, tornando-se imperativa a pesquisa de anticorpos anti-HIV.

The sensitivity, specificity and efficiency values of some serological tests used in the diagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis

This work reports on the results of double immunodiffusion (ID), counterimmunoelectrophoresis (CIE), complement fixation (CF) and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) techniques in the serodiagnosis of paracoccidioidomycosis. The study was undertaken on four groups of individuals: 46 patients with untreated paracoccidioidomycosis, 22 patients with other deep mycoses, 30 with other infectious diseases (tuberculosis and cutaneous leishmaniasis) and 47 blood donors as negative controls. Data were obtained using Paracoccidioides brasiliensis antigens, i.e.,a yeast culture filtrate for ID, CIE and CF, and a yeast cell suspension for IIF. The sensitivity, specificity and efficiency values were measured according to GALEN & GAMBINO8.The gel precipitation tests (ID and CIE) showed the greatest sensitivity (91.3 and 95.6%, respectively), maximum specificity (100%) and the highest efficiency values when compared to the CF and IIF tests.

Semi-destructive in situ tests as support to the assessment of a conservation process

This paper refers to the assessment on site by semi-destructive testing (SDT) methods of the consolidation efficiency of a conservation process developed by Henriques (2011) for structural and non-structural pine wood elements in service. This study was applied on scots pine wood (Pinus sylvestris L.) degraded by fungi after treatment with a biocidal product followed by consolidation with a polymeric product. This solution avoids substitutions of wood moderately degraded by fungi, improving its physical and mechanical characteristics. The consolidation efficiency was assessed on site by methods of drill resistance and penetration resistance. The SDT methods used showed good sensitivity to the conservation process and could evaluate their effectiveness. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On a self-start Darrieus wind turbine: blade design and field tests

This paper is about a design of an urban area Darrieus VAWT, having self-start ability due to an innovative profile design named EN0005, avoiding the need of extra components or external electricity feed-in. An approach is presented to study the ability of a blade profile to offer self-start ability. Methodologies applied for the blade body and for profile development are reported. Field tests and main conclusions are presented to persuade for the arrangement of this design. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modulation of parasitemia and antibody responce to Trypanosoma cruzy by cyclophosphamide in Calomys callosus (Rodentia, Cricetidae)

Calomys callosus a wild rodent, previously described as harboring Trypanosoma cruzi, has a low susceptibility to infection by this protozoan. Experiments were designed to evaluate the contribution of the immune response to the resistance to T. cruzi infection exhibited by C. calossus. Animals were submitted to injections of high (200 mg/kg body weight) and low (20 mg/kg body weight) doses of cyclophosphamide on days -1 or -1 and +5, and inoculated with 4 x 10³ T. cruzi on day O. Parasitemia, mortality and antibody response as measured by direct agglutination of trypomastigotes were observed. Two hundred mg doses of cyclophosphamide resulted in higher parasitemia and mortality as well as in suppression of the antibody response. A single dose of 20 mg enhanced antibody levels on the 20th day after infection, while an additional dose did not further increase antibody production. Parasitemia levels were not depressed, but rather increased in both these groups as compared to untreated controls. Passive transfer of hyperimmune C. callosus anti-T. cruzi serum to cyclophosphamide immunosuppressed animals resulted in lower parasitemia and mortality rates. These results indicate that the immune response plays an important role in the resistance of C. callossus to T. cruzi.

Exposure to acellular blood products and risk of HIV infection in hemophiliacs from Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Results of a HIV prevalence study conducted in hemophiliacs from Belo Horizonte, Brazil are presented. History of exposure to acellular blood components was determined for the five year period prior to entry in the study, which occurred during 1986 and 1987. Patients with coagulations disorders (hemophilia A = 132, hemophilia B = 16 and coagulation disorders other than hemophilia = 16) were transfused with liquid cryoprecipitate, locally produced, lyophilized cryoprecipitate, imported from São Paulo (Brazil) and factor VIII and IX, imported from Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Europe, and United States. Thirty six (22%) tested HIV seropositive. The univariate and multivariate analysis (logistic model) demonstrated that the risk of HIV infection during the study period was associated with the total units of acellular blood components transfused. In addition, the proportional contribution of the individual components to the total acellular units transfused, namely a increase in factor VIII/IX and lyophilized cryoprecipitate proportions, were found to be associated with HIV seropositivity. This analysis suggest that not only the total amount of units was an important determinant of HIV infection, but that the risk was also associated with the specific component of blood transfused