RESULTS: Here, we present the CircPrime web-based platform, providing a user-friendly solution for DNA primer design and thermocycling conditions for circRNA identification with routine PCR methods.
CONCLUSIONS: User-friendly CircPrime web platform ( http://circprime.elgene.net/ ) works with outputs of the most popular bioinformatic predictors of circRNAs to design specific circular RNA primers. CircPrime works with circRNA coordinates and any reference genome from the National Center for Biotechnology Information database).
RESULTS: The prevalence rates of H. pylori infection in animals were 22.2% and 16% in antibody and stool antigen tests, respectively. The detection rates were 28%, 24%, 12%, 10%, and 4.7% in cats, dogs, buffaloes, sheep, and cattle, respectively. On the other hand, the prevalence rate of H. pylori infection in human stool samples was 74.8%, and a statistically significant association was observed between prevalence and several factors, such as sex, age, and locality. PCR was performed to detect the glmM gene of H. pylori, and this gene was found in 21 of 27 human antigen-positive samples and 5 of 13 animal milk samples.
CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori was detected in both human and animal samples. Furthermore, glmM was found in milk and human samples. Our findings suggest that pet and farm animals could transmit H. pylori infection to humans.
METHODS: A cohort of personnel from several schools in Qatar provided nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and rapid antigen testing. Each of them was monitored for infection until February 2022.
RESULTS: In total, 3,241 employees gave samples for analysis. Prior to the start of the 2020-2021 academic year (Group I), 3.49% of samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Most of the positive PCR results were from male, senior, non-teaching staff members. Only 110 (3.39%) employees who had enrolled in face-to-face instruction before the B.1.1.7 variant's emergence (Group II), 238 (7.34%) after the B.1.1.7 variant's emergence (Group III), and 410 (12.65%) after the introduction of the Omicron variant (Group IV) had reported infection by PCR test. Most people who tested positive by PCR after enrolling in school were young, female teachers. In the Cox Proportional-Hazards Model, exposure to a confirmed case, the presence of symptoms in the two weeks prior to exposure in all groups-young age in Groups II and III, male gender in Groups I and IV, shared housing in Group III, and the presence of comorbidities in Groups II and III independently predicted SARS-CoV-2 infection in school staff.
CONCLUSION: Critical information about the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in school workers during the whole pandemic is provided by our study. School operations in Qatar were made safer through initial and ongoing screenings, as well as widespread vaccination of school personnel.
RESULTS: Several reaction conditions of the LAMP reaction were optimized to ensure efficient amplification of the target DNA. The sensitivity of the developed LAMP assay obtained using a pure Leptospira culture was 2 × 104 copies of genomic DNA per reaction (equivalent to 0.1 ng) for a 40-minute reaction time. No cross-reactions were observed in the LAMP reaction against a series of non-leptospiral bacteria, indicating a specific reaction. The applicability of the LAMP assay was demonstrated on human blood and urine specimens collected from suspected leptospirosis patients and rat kidney specimens collected from suspected leptospirosis outbreak areas and high-risk areas. The developed LAMP assay demonstrated a higher detection rate for leptospiral DNA compared with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay, possibly due to the presence of inhibitory substances, especially in rat kidney specimens, to which the PCR method is more susceptible. The present findings also highlight the importance of urine sample collection from patients for routine monitoring of the disease.
CONCLUSIONS: In short, the developed LAMP assay can serve as a feasible alternative tool for the diagnosis of leptospirosis and be used for epidemiological and environmental surveillance of the disease, considering its robustness, rapidity, sensitivity, and specificity, as demonstrated in this study.
METHODS: Nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS) for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and blood for SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing were obtained from staff at a large international school in Qatar at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year and repeated at the end of the first term.
RESULTS: A total of 376 staff provided samples for testing. At the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, the PCR positivity for SARS-CoV-2 was 13%, while seropositivity was 30.1%. A majority of those who tested positive either by PCR or serologically, were non-teaching staff. At the end of the first school term four months later, only 3.5% of the initially antibody-negative staff had seroconverted. In multivariable logistic regression analysis, male gender (OR 11.48, 95%CI 4.77-27.64), non-teaching job category (OR 3.09, 95%CI 1.10-8.64), contact with a confirmed case (OR 20.81, 95%CI 2.90-149.18), and presence of symptoms in the preceding 2 weeks [1-2 symptoms OR 4.82, 95%CI 1.79-12.94); ≥3 symptoms OR 42.30, 95%CI 3.76-476.43) independently predicted SARS-CoV-2 infection in school staff before school starting.
CONCLUSION: Male gender, non-teaching job, presence of symptoms, and exposure to a confirmed case were associated with higher risk of infection. These data can help policymakers in determining the optimal strategy for school reopening.