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Urolithiasis is one of the most frequently occurring diseases worldwide. Its management is related on investigation of concretion composition which helps to assess the current therapy. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry gains significant importance because of its ability to determine concretion composition. Presented review shows the use of FTIR spectroscopy in detection of the very rare urinary stones including cyanoacrylate and pyrophosphate. Infrared spectroscopy made possible to identify the nature of the concretions and helped in management of urolithiasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accordingly, this study shows that women with treated mycoplasma, ureaplasma or bacterial vaginosis do not have an increased incidence of preterm birth; however, no comment can be made on whether untreated infection causes preterm birth. Ethically, investigators may be able to demonstrate research equipoise: that we do not yet know whether treatment reduces preterm birth associated with mycoplasma infection. [Extracted from the article]

AbstractDue to their life cycle, viruses can disrupt the metabolism of their hosts, causing diseases. If we want to disrupt their life cycle, it is necessary to identify their presence. For this purpose, it is possible to use several molecular-biological and bioanalytical methods. The reference selection was performed based on electronic databases (2020–2023). This review focused on electrochemical methods with high sensitivity and selectivity (53% voltammetry/amperometry, 33% impedance, and 12% other methods) which showed their great potential for detecting various viruses. Moreover, the aforementioned electrochemical methods have considerable potential to be applicable for care-point use as they are portable due to their miniaturizability and fast speed analysis (minutes to hours), and are relatively easy to interpret. A total of 2011 articles were found, of which 86 original papers were subsequently evaluated (the majority of which are focused on human pathogens, whereas articles dealing with plant pathogens are in the minority). Thirty-two species of viruses were included in the evaluation. It was found that most of the examined research studies (77%) used nanotechnological modifications. Other ones performed immunological (52%) or genetic analyses (43%) for virus detection. 5% of the reports used peptides to increase the method’s sensitivity. When evaluable, 65% of the research studies had LOD values in the order of ng or nM. The vast majority (79%) of the studies represent proof of concept and possibilities with low application potential and a high need of further research experimental work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]