Generation of an RNA aptamer against LipL32 of Leptospira isolated by Tripartite-hybrid SELEX coupled with in-house Python-aided unbiased data sorting.

Leptospirosis is a potentially life-threatening zoonosis caused by pathogenic Leptospira. The major hurdle of the diagnosis of Leptospirosis lies in the issues associated with current methods of detection, which are time-consuming, tedious and the need for sophisticated, special equipments. Restrategizing the diagnostics of Leptospirosis may involve considerations of the direct detection of the outer membrane protein, which can be faster, cost-saving and require fewer equipments. One such promising marker is LipL32, which is an antigen with high amino acid sequence conservation among all the pathogenic strains. In this study, we endeavored to isolate an aptamer against LipL32 protein via a modified SELEX strategy known as tripartite-hybrid SELEX, based on 3 different partitioning strategies. In this study, we also demonstrated the deconvolution of the candidate aptamers by using in-house Python-aided unbiased data sorting in examining multiple parameters to isolate potent aptamers. We have successfully generated an RNA aptamer against LipL32 of Leptospira, LepRapt-11, which is applicable in a simple direct ELASA for the detection of LipL32. LepRapt-11 can be a promising molecular recognition element for the diagnosis of leptospirosis by targeting LipL32.

Screening for Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus among febrile Indonesian Hajj pilgrims: A study on 28,197 returning pilgrims.

There were 211,000 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims going to Mecca through 11 main airports in 2015 who were at risk of contracting the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). We aimed to find out whether there was any occurrence of MERS-CoV by performing screening on 28,197 returning pilgrims. Those with a body temperature of > 38 °C and respiratory symptoms were sent to the airport clinic to have an oropharyngeal swab and a bacterial culture. Fifteen pilgrims had fever (> 38 °C) accompanied by respiratory symptoms; of these, 12 patients were diagnosed with upper and lower respiratory tract infections and three patients with pneumonia. However, none of them were found to be infected with MERS-CoV. The bacterial cultures showed evidence of normal flora growth.

Aptahistochemistry in diagnostic pathology: technical scrutiny and feasibility.

Antibodies have been the workhorse for diagnostic immunohistochemistry to specifically interrogate the expression of certain protein to aid in histopathological diagnosis. This review introduces another dimension of histochemistry that employs aptamers as the core tool, the so-called aptahistochemistry. Aptamers are an emerging class of molecular recognition elements that could recapitulate the roles of antibodies. The many advantageous properties of aptamers suited for this diagnostic platform are scrutinized. An in-depth discussion on the technical aspects of aptahistochemistry is provided with close step-by-step comparison to the more familiarized immunohistochemical procedures, namely functionalization of the aptamer as a probe, antigen retrieval, optimization with emphasis on incubation parameters and visualization methods. This review offers rationales to overcome the anticipated challenges in transition from immunohistochemistry to aptahistochemistry, which is deemed feasible for an average diagnostic pathology laboratory.

Enhanced photon management in silicon thin film solar cells with different front and back interface texture.

Light trapping and photon management of silicon thin film solar cells can be improved by a separate optimization of the front and back contact textures. A separate optimization of the front and back contact textures is investigated by optical simulations taking realistic device geometries into consideration. The optical simulations are confirmed by experimentally realized 1 µm thick microcrystalline silicon solar cells. The different front and back contact textures lead to an enhancement of the short circuit current by 1.2 mA/cm(2) resulting in a total short circuit current of 23.65 mA/cm(2) and an energy conversion efficiency of 8.35%.

Antiviral and cytotoxic activities of some Indonesian plants.

Ten methanolic extracts from eight Indonesian medicinal plants were phytochemically screened and evaluated for antiviral (HSV-1 and Poliovirus) and cytotoxic activities on murine and human cancer lines (3LL, L1210, K562, U251, DU145, MCF-7). Besides Melastoma malabathricum (Melastomataceae), the Indonesian Loranthaceae species among which Elytranthe tubaeflora, E. maingayi, E. globosa and Scurrula ferruginea exhibited attractive antiviral and cytotoxic activities. Piper aduncum (Piperaceae) was found active on Poliovirus. S. ferruginea was selected for further studies because of its activity on the U251 glioblastoma cells.

Diphtheria in Afghanistan--review of 155 cases.

During the 3-year study period, 155 culture-positive cases of diphtheria were reviewed at the Institute of Child Health, Kabul. They comprised 0.6% of hospital admissions due to medical disorders in our institute. About 80% of patients belonged to an age group of 1-10 years and only two patients were less than 1 year old. The male to female ratio was 1.3:1. There was no history of previous vaccination against diphtheria in 96.7% of patients. In the majority of patients faucial diphtheria was diagnosed (77.4%), followed by laryngeal (16.1%) an combined pharyngolaryngeal (6.5%). Clinical presentation was with a mild to moderate degree of fever, sore throat, cervical lymphadenopathy, toxaemia, tachycardia and a characteristic thick greyish-white membrane. The main early complications were laryngeal obstruction (35), myocarditis (18), shock (3), polyneuritis (3) and renal failure (2). The overall case fatality rate was 19.3%. Prognosis was unfavourable in patients with laryngeal diphtheria when there was a delay of more than 4 days before reaching the hospital and if there was a delay in relieving laryngeal obstruction by tracheostomy. Outcome was unrelated to the age of the patient.